Youth of the Nation
by Lady Rhapsody
Summary: B/V high school fic with a Bonnie and Clyde theme. Bulma is the school's biggest socialite, but is she really as unshakable as she seems?
1. Prologue

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________PROLOUGE  
  
  
  
  
She hadn't wanted to do it.   
  
The sight of that unfortunate girl's face, exaggeratedly shocked and terrifed at the same time, continuously haunted both her dreams and her everyday thoughts. She was sure that upon her first glimpse of his body, her face had been as ashen and sallow as hers had been. While her flawless face had returned to its usual glowing state, hers would remain that way for eternity.  
  
It had been a mistake, they had said. A freak accident--could have happened to anybody, even her. Even her, the Homecoming Queen, the Prom Queen, the Queen Bee. Anybody, they had said, like she was some kind of child, too immature to look at the facts and glean that for herself. Truthfully, at the moment of realization, she had been exactly that. But since then, she had grown and matured. Nothing could shake her now, dammit, she was invincible!  
  
She was Bulma Briefs, and that unfortuante girl had been her best friend.  
  
  
  
  
She and Mariah hadn't always been as distant as they had been in the months leading up to Mariah's death. They had been childhood friends--the best of. Every weekend, every spare moment, they had spent together, strolling down Mariah's winding dirt road into the countryside, watching the brightly colored leaves as they floated down from the ancient maple trees lining the picturesque road. Occasionally they would shop like normal preteen girls, but it hardly mattered in the scheme of things because above all, they had each other. Until Yamcha.  
  
Yamcha had been Bulma's link into the elusive 'in crowd'. He had been what every fourteen-year-old girl dreamed of--classically handsome in a preppy sort of way. Looking back on him now, she realized that he had put a little too much gel in his hair, and he had been completely fake. But around here, who wasn't?  
  
Fake or not, both Bulma and Mariah had obsessed over him for weeks. The obsessing, for Bulma at least, had ended when Yamcha began to notice the fledging beauty and slowly but surely introduced her into his world of parties and expensive clothes, of pseudo superiority and make-out sessions in the janitor's closet between classes. Mariah, somehow, had gotten left behind.  
  
It was plain to everybody that she had given up on Bulma. The girl who had once lived in Bulma's bolder shadow began to come into her own, to become a confident person. But the scar of Bulma's rejection never healed, and she began to grow troubled, to dress in dark colors and watch her best friend turned social butterfly and 'it' girl from afar, wallowing in her unhappy memories. Bulma, of course, was far too busy to notice, and Mariah's meltdown went unnoticed. Until Krillen's party, that is.  
  
It had been the summer between their sophomore and junior year, and naturally Krillen had wanted to invite EVERYBODY to his infamous pool party. Including Mariah. To Bulma, the entire night was a blur of string bikinis, secret caresses in the pool, and various trips to the woods for a joint or two. Until the dare.   
  
Truth or dare was the usual time-filler at their parties. The dares usually consisted of seven minutes in heaven and the like, but somehow this particular had gotten out of hand. Perhaps it was because of the enormous keg that had rolled its way to the poolside, but at any rate the game went on recklessly. After several playful yet harmless dares, the mother of them all came up first as a whisper, then gradually slid its way into the minds of the wasted teenagers.  
  
"Ice..." was the word floating around. "Ice on the driveway..."  
  
Mariah, not wanting to encounter Bulma, had carefully avoided the game, along with several other misfits and the occasional Goth or two. As soon as the group playing the ridiculous game broke up and people, she assumed, had started to leave, she decided to ditch the party in favor of spending yet another long night alone. She couldn't have possibly known that her former best friend had received the horrendous dare.  
  
She got into her old, rusty car and sighed, disappointed over how the party had gone. She had gone hoping that maybe, just maybe, Bulma would open up her pretty blue eyes and turn things around. She had thought that maybe there was still some happiness left for her. What had she ever done do deserve such a fate? She angrily turned the keys in the ignition and began to back out of the driveway, unbeknowest to the peril awaiting her.  
  
The ice had been distributed on the driveway thickly, and the most elite members of the 'in crowd' lied in wait behind some bushes, not knowing how serious a danger they had created until Mariah's car began to spin out of control.  
  
Yamcha had been the first one to reach the totaled car. He pulled on the mangled door and stepped back at the sight of the twisted body inside. Bulma, thinking he was joking around, pushed her way through to get a looksee.  
  
Goku was the only one quick enough to catch her as she collapsed into a dead faint, her eyes wide open and unseeing.  
  
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(A/N): I have decided to post this to just give you all a taste of what's coming. I just couldn't hold it back any longer. The remainder of this story is forthcoming, to be posted after the completion of "Little Black Dress". Trust me, it will be soon, so no need to fret--the wait will not be nearly as long as you think. Please review and give me some thoughts on how you would like this story to go, maybe some constructive critism, or perhaps even a kind review... ;-) ... The rest of the story won't be so dark, I'm just trying to get some backround information in, and yes, this WILL be a B/V. This WILL be a high school fic also, so don't you worry about that! With that said, ja ne, and please review!  
  
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	2. Bonnie and Clyde

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER ONE: Bonnie and Clyde  
  
  
  
  
Bulma Briefs, a senior at last, strode through the hallways of Pineridge High School like it was a catwalk, her flawless face shining with excitement. Despite the fact that she was going to be...delayed for her first class, it was starting to look as if it were going to be a great day. Slipping into the ladies' room, she smoothed down her hair, awaiting the bell that would banish most of the students from the halls and into their classrooms. When it came, she lifted her head to the ceiling in a silent, grateful prayer, and grinned. All was going perfectly according to plan.  
  
Before she slipped back into the hall, she checked that she was alone. Just as predicted, the hallway was empty, save for one pathetic student sprinting to his class. She sighed in relief as the fool disappeared behind one of the many identical doors. The sharp sounds of her expensive heeled shoes striking the floor did not bother her in the least; no one would dare question her intentions, not even the teachers.  
  
Finally she arrived at her destination--the lone drinking fountain across the hall, the site of what would soon become the mother of all schemes. For this week anyway. Smirking, the girl knelt beside the machine, the wheels in her head turning. With the ease of long practice, she slipped out some bobby pins from her knee-high stiletto boots and began to stick them into the thin cracks that went up the side of the old piece of junk. There was no doubt that quite an amount of freshman had been slammed into THIS contraption. The fact that she had never been one of them gave her a brief pang of satisfaction. At last, all of her bobby pins were spent, and she was ready to go into the next phase of her plan.  
  
Humming a song under her breath, she ran a manicured fingernail along the area where the cracks were, examining their stability. When she reached a weak area, her glossed lips curved into a smile of victory. She quickly collected all of the bobby pins and tossed them into a nearby trashbin. Then she stood, brushed herself off, and delivered a swift kick to the weak area of the drinking fountain, observing as the cover came noticeably loose. With an indulgent little laugh and a toss of her long hair, Bulma turned on her heel and continued on her way to her first period class.  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Vejita had never been the kind of person that liked to hide his pranks. He much preferred that everyone, besides the school's administrators of course, knew exactly who was behind every single incident. He could gain a lot more power that way. Through this love of being, in a sense, predictable, Vejita had acquired the respect, and not to mention, fear, of the entire student body. There was not a soul in the school who could outdo him, and they all knew it.   
  
The football star hadn't bothered to use secrecy to complete his task, as Bulma most likely had, but instead simply stood and walked out of his first period. The teacher, having heard of Vejita's many strange personality quirks, had merely shaken his head and continued on with the lesson. It wasn't as if Vejita had been listening anyway.   
  
The knowledgable senior knew exactly where the group of freshman would be. The courtyard was like a magnet for the stupid little fucks. Every year he could find them there, sneaking a smoke or making out or whatever it was that they did; he never really paid much attention to that aspect of it. He threw open the doors and stormed out towards the small group. There were four of them today. Slim pickings, but Vejita had learned to deal with that. The fewer there were, the harsher the punishment, and that was something that he could definitely live with.  
  
They saw him coming as soon as the doors had been flung open. Their jaws dropped, and they could hardly believe their bad luck. Vejita smirked at them gleefully, gauging their varying expressions of fear and surprise.   
  
"Well, kids, you've gotten yourselves into a very dangerous situation," he said, his voice low and mocking. "WhatEVER will you do?"  
  
Silence was his reply. Shaking his head in disappointment, for he had always loved to spar verbally, he gestured for them to follow him. He smiled a crooked half-smile as they obeyed and followed him out of the courtyard like little ducklings. Vejita found himself wishing that there were more people around to witness this event, as it would be one for the yearbooks for sure.  
  
He stopped once they reached the gym, conveniently empty at this time of day. He turned to face his victims, amused with their pale faces and tight expressions. "Ladies, follow me." The unfortunate two followed him silently. Vejita only glanced back at the remaining two boys and glared at them, to assure that they would stay put. They had reached the boy's locker room before the girls realized his plan.  
  
"Oh my Gawd," one of them moaned under their breath. "Oh my Gawd."  
  
"Shhh, you dumbass!" her companion snapped.  
  
In spite of their dread, they followed Vejita straight into the room. Without a word, he grabbed them by the front of their slutty little shirts and somehow managed to fit them into two of the (occupied) gym lockers. He smirked as he closed the doors and set the locks, thinking of how funny it would be when the owners of the lockers discovered what had turned up among their jockstraps and old tennis shoes. The screams of protest that followed him out of the room were absolutely delicious.  
  
The boys were waiting exactly where he had left them, not surprisingly. Vejita didn't even have to speak, they simply allowed him to lead them into the girls' locker room, a place that Vejita had most definitely visited before. Chuckling to himself, Vejita shoved them into the lockers and secured the locks, taking his own sweet time. But this time, for the sheer fun of it, he picked up a can of flowery-smelling body spray that had been left on one of the benches and sprayed them each in the face, grinning as they rubbed their stinging eyes and stifled moans of pain.   
  
"You'll want to smell nice for the ladies when they return." With a staged little wave, he turned and left the locker room, then the gym, with no intentions to return to his class, because Vejita was the kind of person who liked to revel in his victories.  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
It wasn't until lunch that either Bulma or Vejita was questioned about the day's pranks, though the rumor mill at Pineridge High had been turning busily ever since. It was no secret that Vejita had been involved, but the why's and how's of the situation where still undetermined. Bulma couldn't help but feel a bit perturbed that she wasn't getting proper credit...yet. So instead of spending her Seminar hour completing her untouched homework, she used the time to plot ways to capture some of the glory for herself.   
  
By the time the bell rang for her lunch period, Bulma's devious mind had formulated several ideas, though she would have never stooped so low as to go about getting them carried out. Bulma Briefs was nobody's partner in crime, and she meant to keep it that way. No, linking her name with a guy like Vejita's would do her no good. Though he was widely considered 'popular', in reality, Vejita was not really part of the elite group. He instead sort of haunted the shadows on the edges of the rambunctious crowd. In some ways, this was a blessing, considering his sometimes sadistic humor and often sharp tongue. God knew that some of them could not afford any more nasty rumors flying about the school, further degrading their superior reputations. But, as was becoming an increasingly poignant point with Bulma, the 'in crowd' could use some fresh meat. Especially meat of THAT caliber. Bulma grimaced at this unnecessary thought and put it from her mind. After all, she had Yamcha, though they were in the monthly 'off' period of their relationship at the moment. She thought briefly of how jealous her possessive ex would be if she came to a party on the arm of another man and smiled.  
  
She hadn't even completely exited her classroom when Chichi, her 'best friend', linked her jean-jacketed arm through Bulma's bare one and immediately began her trademark gossiping. Bulma was half-aware of her friend's chattering on about how brilliant Bulma's prank had been, how much better it had been than that horrid Vejita's, and how Bulma should watch her back in the future, because Beverly McPherson had seen her bend down next to the drinking fountain, and she was awful proud of it, too. Chichi did not notice Bulma's tuning her out until her silent friend failed to answer an 'important' question.  
  
"Hello?!" she shouted, causing several people walking around them to flinch. "Have you even heard ONE WORD of what I've been saying?"  
  
"No," Bulma replied coldly, readjusted her purse over her shoulder. "I haven't."  
  
Chichi shook her head ponytailed head. "You haven't been yourself lately, Bulma. Tell me what's the matter--please!"  
  
"Oh, God, Chichi," Bulma groaned, running a hand through her hair. "You know me and Yamcha are on the rocks again. That bastard just can't keep his eyes--and hands--from wandering, I swear."  
  
"Oh, Bulma," Chichi offered sympathetically.   
  
"Don't feel sorry for ME," Bulma said, lifting her chin. "You SHOULD be feeling sorry for HIM. He's had his chance at the most beautiful, popular girl in the school, and he's ruined it. Apparently he doesn't understand the significance of what he's done. We're over for GOOD this time."  
  
"I've heard that before, Bulma," Chichi said mildly. "And what's this with you and Vejita lately? You two are a regular 'Bonnie and Clyde', for God's sake."  
  
Bulma smiled. "There's nothing 'with' me and Vejita. He simply proposed a contest, and I rose to the challenge. Honestly Chichi, me and VEJITA? What were you thinking?"  
  
It was Chichi's turn to give a knowing smile. "I don't know. I must be crazy or something."  
  
"Obviously." Bulma quickened her step, leaving Chichi behind. Sometimes, she couldn't quite remember why she burdened herself with such an annoying girl.   
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Needless to say, the conversation at lunch-time that day was not lacking in entertainment. Bulma put up with the good-natured teasing for a few minutes, then began to grow swiftly tired of it. With a look of pure venom directed to everyone at the small, select table, she got up in a huff and retreated to the corner of the room, where Vejita resided. But the people at her table did not feel like they had gained the upper-hand with Bulma for even a moment, instead they felt as if they had been cast aside like insects and forgotton. Bulma had long since established her leadership, and her carefully orchestrated grasp was too tight to give way now. Vejita welcomed her only after making a particularily biting comment.  
  
"I see you've spared no expense in flaunting what every man knows he cannot have," he said, crossing his arms and studying her outfit. "An unnecessary effort--I'm sure they've all had a small part of it at one time or another. I suppose leadership doesn't come without a price, eh?"  
  
"Are you jealous, Vejita?" Bulma shot back, taking a seat across from him and crossing her legs. "Believe me, most of them have had more than their share." With the teasing over with, she leaned forward and smirked. "Come on, you can't deny that I won that little contest. The drinking fountain trick was a classic. I used bobby pins to loosen the cracks so that I could just slip them right in and out of my boots--BOBBY PINS, Vejita. If that's not crafty, then I don't know what is."  
  
Vejita shook his head seriously. "It may have been a classic, but that was NOT the purpose of the contest. I specifically said that the prank that was the most embarrassing for the victims would win, and your prank's only victims were the people who got their shoes wet in the flooded hallway, and the little dumbass who got soaked when he pressed the button. My prank involved FOUR victims, all of which will be ridiculed and gang-beaten like the pansies they are for the rest of their high school career."  
  
Bulma pouted flirtaceously. "You've won the battle, Vejita, but you have not won the war. Now tell me, why would you ask me, of all the notorious troublemakers in this school, to compete against you, the infamous bad-boy of Pineridge High School?" As she waited for his answer, she examined her manicure skeptically, frowning at a small imperfection. "Damn that inexperienced nail technician...see if I ever give HER my business anymore." Her serious words would bring fear into the heart of any business manager, because Bulma Briefs was notoriously wealthy, and when she shopped, she SHOPPED.  
  
"Most of the people in this puny little school bore me," Vejita said indifferently, leaning back in his chair. Vejita's father was a hardcore military man, and had such aspirations for his son, and they had moved around a lot in his life. Vejita had come to Pineridge the summer before the incident at the party. His father had retired a few months later, when his wife had died of cancer, and so Vejita was stuck at Pineridge, a fact he bitterly resented. "I was simply seeing if such a skinny little cheerleader would have it in her."  
  
"Oh, not that cheerleader shit again," Bulma groaned, resting her chin on her propped hands. "God, I'm just about the most unorthodox cheerleader you'll ever meet, and you know it. I don't even show up at practices anymore. I think that I could even rival YOU."  
  
Vejita raised an eyebrow. "If tardiness and skipping were a contest, I could easily crush you, woman."  
  
Bulma smiled smugly. "Well, they can't afford to lose their best flyer--ME."  
  
"They can't afford to lose their best quarterback, either."   
  
"You're the only quarterback in Pineridge history who has made more touchdowns than the entire rest of the team. Of course you get the benefit of the doubt. Does the word 'pass' mean anything to you?" Bulma didn't expect him to answer, so she instead went on ahead with the conversation. "So I take it this means that I'm not 'boring'?"  
  
Vejita considered his answer, though it did not show on his face, thanks to long practice. He didn't want to come right out and say what was REALLY on his mind--he didn't even trust his own father that much--but then again, the more they interacted with each other, the more he was coming to realize how alike they were. The only person he had ever confided in was Goku, and it meant to keep it that way. "Let's not jump to conclusions."  
  
Bulma laughed her throaty little laugh just as the bell rang. She waited until Vejita had stood and nearly turned to leave before standing herself, brushing off her jean skirt gingerly. She took a deep breath and approached Vejita, maintaining a sarcastic little smile on her face. "You know, we're more alike than you realize. Maybe we could hang out sometime...you know, whenever our schedules allow it." She did her lashes trick--men loved it when she gazed becomingly up at them through her lashes and she knew it. Many a boy had lost their heart to THAT little gesture. She hoped that it had its usual effect on the hard-headed Vejita.  
  
"Is there something in your eye?" Vejita retorted brusquely. He turned to leave, walked a few steps, then turned around to face her again before exiting the cafeteria. "Your girlish little tricks will not work with me, woman. Nice try."  
  
Bulma watched him leave, shell-shocked. She was extremely grateful that nearly everyone had left the room just in time to miss that grisly rejection. She began walking stiffly, slowly, back to her locker, rendered into silence by the sting of her very first rejection. Bulma Briefs, cast aside like some...loser?! Unthinkable! Lifting her chin, Bulma forced a smile back onto her face and strutted down the hall, letting everyone know that NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, could shake to their fearless leader.  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
That evening, after football practice, Goku took Vejita aside, concern showing on his honest face. The immature runningback had been Vejita's friend from the start, though no one could really determine why. Vejita scowled and protested this 'weak' show of friendship. Goku was so used to it that he hardly even noticed.  
  
"Hey, man, what's wrong?"  
  
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Vejita snapped, knowing very well that he hadn't been playing quite up to his normal level of perfection that day. Even the death of his mother a year back hadn't fazed his game for even a moment. "Nothing's ever been wrong with me, and that sure as hell has not changed."  
  
Goku shook his head, doubtful. "You don't have to tell me, Vejita, I was just trying to be a good friend. All I can do is ask, you know." He slung his Day-Glo orange Nike bag over his shoulder and exited the locker room, leaving Vejita alone to brood over this turn of events.  
  
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(A/N): Well, this story is now going to be updated regularily! Yay! I'm very much enjoying writing this story, especially since I've modeled some of the characters and events after some of my actual high-school experiences. I'm always open to ideas, and suggestions for situations in this story are always appreciated...hint hint...As always, visit my website so that you can assist me in my Greek Mythology outlining and maybe even offer some ideas on the upcoming sequel to "Little Black Dress". Look for the next chapter in the next couple of days, perhaps on Friday night or Saturday morning. Please be courteous and REVIEW! It ain't gonna improve without some constructive critism, people!  
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	3. Mayhem at the Mall

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER TWO: Mayhem at the Mall  
  
  
  
  
"Ew, Gucci's fall line is absolutely horrendous," Bulma sneered, placing a striped shirt back on the rack, touching it as little as possible, as if the cloth itself was disgusting. "Something's wrong with the world when you can't even get a good outfit at GUCCI."  
  
"Personally, I've never liked their selection." Chichi pushed her fashionable sunglasses further up on her nose. She was conservatively dressed in a khaki turtleneck and a brown suede skirt, which, of course, fell to just above her knees. She wore knee-high boots that had heels about four inches lower than the ones Bulma had been sporting the day before, and her hair was up in a practical knot. "J.Crew is more my style."  
  
Bulma wrinkled her nose as they exited the store and fell into step with the rest of the crowd. Even though she was in a bit of a shopping rut, she could not be completely disappointed. She was in her element at the mall, among the fast-walking crowds and frantic Starbucks vendors. "J.Crew is just as disgusting as Gucci is, unless you make attending study-groups where you actually STUDY a habit."  
  
Chichi humphed and lifted her chin a bit higher. "So what if I actually DO prop open a book every once in a while? College is very important to me, Bulma, even if it isn't what you would consider the 'coolest' thing to be doing with your life." She was very proud of herself for standing up to Bulma, in spite of how angry she knew she made her friend.  
  
"What kind of girl do you think I AM?!" Bulma asked incredulously, stopping in her tracks and blocking traffic, which caused more than one ambitious shopper to grumble. "Just because I'm not some kind of genius like you and my father doesn't mean that my life's ambition is to become a STRIPPER or something. God, Chi."  
  
"I wasn't SAYING that," Chichi protested, trotting to keep up with Bulma's long, supermodel strides. "I was just saying that just because you put some time into your schoolwork doesn't mean that you're some kind of...DORK or something. And I was also saying that maybe you should think about college more, B-chan. You're much smarter than you realize. Perhaps you could come over and study with me sometime, it would really help your grades, you know." She smiled, proud of her smooth recovery. She was getting very good at recoveries, since she and Bulma's friendship seemed to be consisted of more arguing than anything else.  
  
Apparently, it wasn't smooth enough, because Bulma did not respond for some time. When she did, her voice was noncommital. "Maybe. If I can fit it in sometime."  
  
Her friend shook her head--she had her doubts--and dropped the subject. She did protest, however, when Bulma led her into Victoria's Secret. "Bulma, what are you doing?"  
  
"Shopping," she retorted, a bit amused at her friend's embarrassment. "I'm a woman, and I'm PROUD to be shopping at the world's best lingerie store." She examined a scandalously skimpy bunch of string--or at least it was what Chichi THOUGHT was a bunch of string, and picked out her size.  
  
"What the hell is that?"  
  
Bulma smiled. "Its a thong, Chichi, you should know what THAT looks like."  
  
"That has to be the skimpiest article of clothing in this entire store."  
  
"It probably is," Bulma admitted. "But panty lines are a definite no-no!"  
  
Chichi snorted and cast a desperate glance out into the mall hallway, where there was no naughty lingerie or push-up bras or whatever it was Bulma was shopping for. "I'm gonna wait outside. I don't have a pressing need to watch you shop for underwear." She hurried out of the store before Bulma got a chance to respond and sat on a bench, recovering from her flustered state. She was almost completely back to normal when a familiar face poked through the crowd.  
  
"Chichi! Chichi, over here!" Goku called.   
  
The delighted girlfriend grinned, stood on her bench, and waved him over. "I'm waiting for somebody! YOU come over HERE!" Several shoppers trying to relax around her scowled and left, disgusted with the obnoxious teenager's high voice and desperate movements. However, when Goku and his companion came into view, her grin dimmed a bit. Vejita's darkly handsome face was revealed as they broke free of the crowds. Chichi, remembering Bulma in Victoria's Secret, felt a bit of pity for the poor, unsuspecting girl.  
  
"Who are ya waiting for?" Goku asked curiously, after giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.   
  
"Who else?" Chichi said pointedly, gesturing into Victoria's Secret. "Last I knew, Bulma was the only one of us who shops in THERE."  
  
Vejita smirked. "So you're a K-mart panty type of girl?"  
  
"EXCUSE me?!" Chichi practically shouted. "I'll have you know that I shop in...that place...just as much as Bulma does!" After Goku and Vejita's doubtful silence, she regressed a bit. "Well, ALMOST as much."  
  
Bulma hurried out of the store at that moment, though she didn't see Goku and Vejita until the very last moment. Her black-lined eyes narrowed dramatically at Vejita, and her stride slowed down a bit. She did not seem embarrassed about the pink bag in her hand nor its contents, as Chichi had predicted. She stopped in front of them and put her hands on her hips, waiting silently for an explanation.  
  
"Umm," Chichi started. "They...approached me?"  
  
"Nice try," Bulma snapped. "You called Goku over, and Vejita just so happened to be with him. So, are my 'girlish tricks' up to par today?"  
  
Goku and Chichi were silent, puzzled at the strange comment. Vejita never faltered, and neither did that aggravating smirk. "I'm guessing that you're sick of shopping with that annoying bitch you like to call your 'friend'."  
  
Bulma ignored Chichi's gasp of surprise and crossed her arms. "And just what do you propose I do about it? Go with YOU?"  
  
"What a marvelous idea," Vejita growled, seizing her elbow and practically dragging her away from Goku and Chichi, who stared after them cluelessly. "Its a good thing for you I brought my car with me. You will not be going home with Chichi today."  
  
Bulma didn't know whether to be scared over his sudden takeover or just plain confused. Just yesterday he had rejected her without a second thought, and today he was pulling her aside for some private mall time, a very significant thing among the Pineridge students, and not asking, but rather TELLING her that he was going to take her home afterwards. So instead of protesting, she went along with this sudden turn of events and followed Vejita through the mall, still carting her Victoria's Secret bag around with her. Even though she might not be revealing it on the outside, she had been secretly mortified to find Vejita watching her come out of that particular store, though she suspected that it was something that might attract the school's bad-boy rather than repel him. But this kind of unexplained behavior could go unmentioned for only a limited amount of time. It was when he stopped in front of a music store that she refused to go on.  
  
"This is bullshit!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands. "Just what the HELL do you think you're doing? You can't just--whisk me away from my friends and then not SAY anything about it!"  
  
"Yesterday you wouldn't have minded very much." Vejita stopped also, but looked rather impatient to get inside the store. "And why do I have to explain myself to YOU, anyway?"  
  
Bulma was incredulous. "Maybe, but you rejected me, remember? And, by the way, I'll have you know that you are the first guy to EVER do that. You've officially made history, Vejita."  
  
"Bulma Briefs, refusing to associate with ME?" Vejita feigned hurt and embarrassment. "Oh, no--whatever will I DO? My social life is OVER." Not waiting for her response, he went into the store, gravitating towards the 'New Arrivals' section.  
  
Bulma stood outside of the store for a few moments, uncertain of what she should do. She briefly considered running off to find Goku and Chichi, and forget this silly little escapade, but then, remembering how much Chichi disliked shopping and how much of a hurry she would be to go home, she realized that she had no other choice but to play along with Veijta's strange behavior. But she decided that she would not make it easy for the asshole who had dared to cross her. So, with a toss of her shining hair, she made her entrance a grand one and smiled as she felt all male eyes shift towards her. Vejita didn't seem to notice.  
  
"Are you almost finished? I'm not done shopping for myself, you know!"  
  
"Since when do you rule the world?" Vejita demanded, glaring at her. "Go if you want, but you'd better be prepared to walk home."  
  
"I just might consider that," Bulma said. "Besides, I could easily get a ride home from any guy in this mall."  
  
"I have no doubt that you could. A blow-job here, a tiny little make-out session there, how easy is THAT?" He grabbed a few CD's and proceeded to the counter. "But if you don't stick around, you're gonna miss all of the fun."  
  
Bulma exited the store beside him, intrigued in spite of herself. "Fun? Like what, baiting security guards?"  
  
"Something along the lines of that," Vejita allowed mysteriously. "But I was thinking of something a bit more...disruptive." He glanced around, making sure that nobody was eavesdropping, and smirked. "Perhaps we could pull a fire alarm..."  
  
"And what would THAT accomplish?" Bulma asked doubtfully. "Besides, I've never seen a fire alarm that wasn't closely guarded by a cop."  
  
"We could always set a fire," Vejita stated, as if this were an everyday suggestion. He motioned to a large, fake Christmas decoration hanging from the ceiling. "That looks especially flammable..."  
  
"Once again, what would we accomplish by having the entire place evacuated?"  
  
"Come on, you're more creative that THAT," Vejita said scornfully. "With no people in the mall, who's to stop someone from say, 'borrowing' several things?"  
  
Bulma, who had never had any money problems, crossed her arms. "I don't have any problems affording what I want, so that would be pointless."  
  
"I highly doubt that your parents would be happy if a very large amount of money spent at one of those jewelry stores showed up on their credit-card bills," Vejita pointed out, eyeing an especially expensive store across the way. "And it would be so simple. It would be a fucking CRIME if we didn't do it."  
  
"We?" Bulma shook her head. "I don't think so. You're in this alone, no matter how nice those tennis bracelets are."  
  
Vejita shrugged and started towards the decoration, fishing a lighter out of the pocket of his jeans. "Suit yourself. I could use a special edition Playstation 2, though." Without a second thought he turned the lighter on and set the decoration on fire, much to Bulma's surprise. As predicted, the decoration was extremely flammable, and it nearly exploded with flame. The fire caught on to the various other decorations and sale banners, and the fire alarms began to go off. People scrambled to get out of the mall, even the store clerks, thinking that nobody would be brave enough to stay long enough to shoplift. They were correct, for the most part.  
  
Bulma was torn between following her fellow sane shoppers and staying behind with this crazy guy that she had only THOUGHT she knew. With a second, longing glance at the jewelry store, she made up her mind. Vejita was stepping away from the scorched decorations, grinning like a maniac. Bulma felt her heart skip a beat as she stared in awe at this classic bad-boy. Her parents would keel over and die if they could only see this! Swallowing her fear, she grabbed his arm and shouted to him over the blaring alarms.  
  
"So, what do we do now?"  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Twenty minutes, later, Bulma was covered in sparkling jewels from head to toe, and Vejita had several bagfuls of his own selections. As they passed her beloved Victoria's Secret, Bulma suddenly stopped in her tracks, an idea forming in her mind. The beautiful, scandalously skimpy nightie she had been admiring earlier was still on display, untouched by the flames. Vejita lifted a brow, but did not protest as he followed her over to the display.  
  
"Under normal circumstances," Bulma said, half to herself. "I would NEVER consider even looking at something like this. But..." She ran a ringed finger over the lacy fabric. "This is by no means a NORMAL situation." She ripped it off the rack and scurried to the dressing rooms, leaving Vejita alone in the middle of the single most embarrassing store in the mall. He was tempted to leave her, but something was telling him that he would definitely regret it.  
  
That something proved to be correct when Bulma came out of the dressing room a few minutes later. The nightie was by no means conservative--this was definitely not an outfit for the timid. Vejita was of the opinion that she would be better covered if she were just wearing a bra and panties, but he kept this to himself. She twirled around, admiring herself in the nightie and diamonds.   
  
"Wow," she breathed. "I think I'll be keeping this."  
  
Vejita snorted. "You don't have the gall to wear something like that for more than ten minutes, woman, and you know it."  
  
Bulma, sensing a challenge in his voice, frowned. "Oh? Well, we'll see. I think that I'll just keep it on!" She lifted her chin and pushed past him and out of the store, headed for a shoe store down the aisle. "Now all I need is some shoes to go with it." She seized a pair of impossibly skinny spike heels and slid them on with a triumphant smile. "There! The Playmate of the Year has nothing on me."  
  
Vejita couldn't argue with that. To cover up the intruding 'warm, fuzzy feelings' he was reluctantly feeling about this bold girl, he crossed his arms and scowled. "Now all you need is a damned TIARA and you'll look like a porn star."  
  
"Oh my God!" Bulma gasped, the old love of playing dress-up reawakened in her. "That's perfect!"  
  
And so that's how she ended up strutting around the mall, avoiding the fire-fighters had begun to arrive in a barely-there nightie, thousands of dollars worth of diamonds and jewels from various stores, a cheap children's tiara, and stilettos. Vejita stilfed laughter at the ridiculous medley of styles, but had to admit that Bulma carried it off well. He himself had decided to ham it up as well--at Bulma's suggestion he had taken a leather jacket and a gold watch from a department store. But as the fire-fighters and several cops began to survey the damage, the mischevious pair were forced to bring their criminal escapade to an end. Vejita discovered an exit in the back of the food court, and after stuffing a considerable amount of money from a cash register in his pocket, led Bulma out to the parking lot, which was deserted, much to her relief.   
  
"Holy shit," she exclaimed, shivering against the cold winter wind. "I cannot believe that you convinced me to do that!"  
  
Vejita smirked and unlocked his car. "You'd better hope that your parents aren't home. I have a feeling that they will not admire your...outfit...as much as I do." Bulma blushed, and he mentally slapped himself. "Though I have to tell you that you look like a two-cent whore."  
  
"Two-cent?!" Bulma said incredulously. "Look at this jewelry! No two-cent whore would even dream of having so many diamonds. And besides, this is vintage Victoria's Secret!"  
  
As they came closer to Bulma's mansion, Vejita slowed his sports car, so that nobody would hear the powerful engine and suspect something. "I don't know how the hell you're gonna get in that prison that you call home. You're parents have probably got motion-sensors surrounding the entire house."  
  
"Jesus Christ!" Bulma groaned. "I can't let them see me come home with YOU, especially dressed like THIS."  
  
"What, have your parents heard of me or something?"  
  
"My father has spoken to your dad several times, and nothing he says about you is very appealing to Daddy." Bulma was wide-eyed with worry. "Oh shit, I can't get grounded NOW, I have a cheerleading banquet to go to!"  
  
"A stupid cheerleading banquet is the least of your worries now," Vejita snapped, coming to a stop in front of her neighbor's house. "Please tell me that your parents aren't home."  
  
Bulma surveyed the driveway and a relieved grin came lit up her face. "Thank God! The only people at the house are some of my father's workers, and they wouldn't dare tell Daddy or Mother anything THIS extreme. My parents must have gone out to dinner." Turning to Vejita, she fumbled for something to say. "Thanks for...well, all of this." She climbed out of the car and hurried to her house before Vejita could respond, which was good for him, because he wouldn't have been able to think of anything to say, anyway.  
  
With a frustrated frown, he made sure that she was able to get in without anything happening, revved the engine of his illegally purchased car (it had been the mother of all his schemes), and sped down the street, waking up half the neighborhood and not even caring.  
  
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(A/N): OMG, I've been...PLUGGED! Thank you sooo much Stef-chan! I'm...flattered. ^____^ Nobody has ever made me feel so...loved. Haha! The next chapter will be out sometime later next week, I'm thinking, due to all of the horrible midterm projects that I have to get done. Damn high school! LOL! Please remember to be nice and review! Rhapsody~*  
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	4. At the Quarry Pool

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER THREE: At the Quarry Pool  
  
  
The only sign of the previous night's events, that Vejita could see anyway, was a beautiful diamond and platinum ring on Bulma's finger. He had to give her credit for not bragging to her idiot friends about what they had done. He made it a point to avoid her until he could think up of something to say to the girl that wouldn't betray his uncertain feelings. He was rather unsuccessful, so Bulma did not see much of him during school that day.  
  
Not that she noticed much. Chichi and Goku constantly bombarded her with questions. At first she had been annoyed, but as the day went on she realized that she could use them to her advantage. So, when Chichi slid into the desk beside her after taking a test in Lit, she did not wave her away, or even discourage the curious girl, as she had been doing all day. She just went on with her homework half-heartedly, aware of the longing stares a junior guy across the room was shooting her. She did not appreciate the distraction. She shot him a look of disgust and smiled when he quickly looked away, his cheeks red with embarrassment and shame. Then she directed her attention to Chichi, who was gripping her desk in anticipation.  
  
"What is it?" Bulma asked, though she knew very well what Chichi wanted. "I have to finish this, or I'll never get it done, so hurry up!"  
  
"You know what I want to know," Chichi protested. "What HAPPENED yesterday? I've been DYING to know ever since then! And that fire! Don't tell me that you know anything about that."  
  
"Even if I did, it would be Vejita's story to tell," Bulma said mysteriously, enjoying the hold she had over Chichi. "After all, he started it."  
  
"He DID?!"  
  
Bulma held the hand with the ring out in front of her, admiring the beautiful piece of jewelry. Chichi, however, did not suspect anything. Bulma's wealth was quite well-known. "Of course he did. And I swear to God, it was his idea. I was horrified when he first did it! But then again..." She smiled wistfully. "I never knew how much I was attracted to him. He's so much more interesting than Yamcha, that boring son of a bitch."  
  
"You loved him once," Chichi said dryly. "And I've heard the whole 'oh, he's so much more interesting' speech before. Bulma, are you crazy? Vejita?! He's practically public enemy number one around here, for God's sake! He's probably murdered somebody before, and thats why he used to move around a lot."  
  
Bulma was suddenly deathly silent, her face tight and angry. "So what if he HAS? That should make him all the more appealing to me, shouldn't it? Jesus Christ, Chichi, what have I told you about saying things like that?! Do you want to get me convicted or something?" She turned back to her work, her pen scratching the paper angrily.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Chichi snapped, offended. "It was just a suggestion."  
  
"Well," Bulma huffed, obviously not interested in talking to her anymore. "For future reference, keep your suggestions to yourself. What I did yesterday is none of your business, anyway."  
  
Chichi studied her for a moment, then nodded and silently walked back to her seat. Bulma waited until she had gone, then ripped the paper she had been writing out of her notebook and crumpled it in her hands. She tossed it towards a garbage can, missed, and then put her head in her hands, feeling a headache coming on.  
  
"Is there a problem, Miss Briefs?" the teacher asked, coming over to her desk. "Do you need a pass?"  
  
Bulma glared up at the offending teacher, not afraid of his authority. "Do I LOOK like I want help?! I don't need a pass, goddammit! I'm fine! Go away!" She watched as the teacher meekly walked away, and then put her head back into her hands. "This is going to be one hell of a long day."  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Bulma was quite correct in her assumption--it turned out to be a long, incredibly uneventful and boring day. Chichi withdrew all of her ridiculous questions, and she must have advised Goku to do the same, because he did not bother her with them either. Though she did not like people talking about her mood swings, she was a bit grateful for this. She did not know why Chichi's suggestion bothered her so much. Perhaps, she had come to thinking, it was because of how much sense it made to her. Often, she herself had felt like fleeing Pineridge instead of dealing with all of the stress that comes with hiding such a dark, horrible secret. But still, she could not easily imagine Vejita as some kind of fugitive, especially since it had been his whole family that had moved, not just him alone, and his father had been in the military, and it would be sort of hard to hide that kind of thing from him. But then again, why else would Vejita be so interested in associating with her? He had gone out of his way several times now, and their mutual legal problems might be the reason for that.  
  
She was so intent in her thoughts that she nearly ran a red light at the intersection nearest to her house. She slammed on the brakes and after she was sure that she was safe, rested her forehead on the steering wheel, cursing the car gods for being so cruel to her. How was a girl supposed to be able to sort things out when there was a damned traffic light every quarter mile? When the light changed she sped through it like a madwoman. At the moment, all she wanted to do was go home, change out of her cheerleading outfit, and soak in a bubble bath. But when she trudged up to her front door, she discovered that, once again, adversity had followed her home like a faithful shadow.  
  
None other than Vejita was sitting on her stoop, leaning against a smooth white column with a bored expression on his face. Bulma stopped a few feet away and fingered her gym bag anxiously, waiting for an explanation. Vejita looked up at her once, grinned at her outfit, and then looked back down at his hands.  
  
"How did you get here?" Bulma asked, looking towards the long driveway. "I don't see your car."  
  
"Its down by the road," Vejita said. "Didn't think your parents would appreciate me being here."  
  
"Why ARE you here?" Bulma stepped over him and opened the door, peering inside. "Nobody's around. They're probably over in my dad's lab or something. Come on in."  
  
Vejita followed her into her house, observing the rich surroundings as she led him to her mother's parlor, where she disappeared behind the mini-bar. Vejita took a seat and ran a hand over the smooth marble counter. "Damn, what were you doing shopping at the mall? Your old man could probably BUY the mall."  
  
Bulma reappeared with a strawberry wine cooler in one hand and a handful of beers in the other. "Got a preference?"  
  
Vejita grabbed one and set it back down on the table, not really feeling like a drink. He had never been a heavy drinker, not even when his past friends had tried to pressure him into it.  
  
"Daddy would never lower himself to buying a shopping mall. He usually likes to buy out the competition and things like that, for understandable reasons. Chichi's wrong--I don't need college. When I finish high school I'll just start working with my dad so that I can take over the company eventually."  
  
Vejita studied her. She felt as if he had X-ray vision and was tearing her mind apart, looking for all of her secrets. "High aspirations."  
  
"My parents wouldn't settle for anything less," Bulma said breezily, leaning back on her elbows. "You still haven't told me why you're here. You don't strike me as the type to visit just for the sake of socializing."  
  
"Now, THAT'S a stereotype," Vejita pouted, pretending to be insulted. "What gave you such an idea?"  
  
"Screw you." Bulma's words were serious, but her eyes were dancing. "Well, if you're not gonna tell me, then you can forget about the free beer. Hand it over."  
  
"How do you do it?" Vejita stared at her, holding her eyes seriously.   
  
Bulma set down her drink and furrowed her brow. "Do what?"  
  
"Pretend that you're just like every other FOOL out there." Vejita kicked over his chair and slammed his fists on the bar, leaning in closer to her. "I know what happened at that damned party, and I want to know how you can pretend that it wasn't your FUCKING fault when it so obviously was! Are you a good actress or just some kind of idiot?"  
  
Bulma was shocked at the intensity of his tone more than what he was saying. His eyes were hard and angry, like he was truly feeling badly. She involuntarily took a step back at this sudden mood swing. For a moment there, she had felt like he was going to attack her. But that was ridiculous...right? "I don't pretend anything, Vejita, I just don't talk about it. I've had time to recover."  
  
"That girl's parents are going to bring the entire city's police station down on you. And no matter how well-known or popular or clever you think you are, you're not going to be able to do a fucking single thing about it." Vejita removed his hands from the bar and took a step back, apparently calming down a little. "I know, because I'm in the same boat as you, as much as I hate to admit it."  
  
Bulma's jaw dropped. "What are you trying to tell me, Vejita?"  
  
"I'm not TRYING to tell you anything. I'm TELLING you that my family doesn't move around because of my father's profession. We move around because of an idiot bet, much like the one you received."   
  
"You're lying, you bastard! What makes you think that you can manipulate me like this?"  
  
"You want proof? I can take to you to where they hid the body." Vejita smirked. "Hell, I can even show you where the poor little jackass hit the pavement."  
  
"H-hit the...pavement?"  
  
"One of the guys I used to hang around with lived near this old quarry pool," Vejita started, the eerie smirk still on his face. His eyes were expressionless, as if he were looking into a completely different time and place. "There was a platform about a hundred or so feet above it. We used to go there to smoke and shit, but one day this new kid came with us."  
  
"Oh God," Bulma moaned, putting her hands to her throbbing temples. The memories came rushing back to her in one big flash flood of pain. "I don't want...I don't NEED to hear this. I believe you, dammit!"  
  
"He was such a dumbass," Vejita spat, as if he hated him still. "The kid would have flung HIMSELF off of the platform if we'd have told him to. But no, my 'buddy' decided that it would make things so much funnier if someone PUSHED him, just so the kid would get an idea of who was really boss in that town. Come to think of it, that particular 'friend' of mine was a real pushover too, if you'll excuse the pun there." Vejita grabbed the beer and opened it, contemplating taking a sip. "He was also a pussy, so I got stuck with the fucking job. This kid wasn't into football or anything, so the wind could've blown him over the edge. I just...gave him a little head start."  
  
"So that's why we've become so 'chummy'," Bulma muttered. "Well...this is fantastic."  
  
"The kid's parents were just as stupid as he was," Vejita went on bitterly. "When I left, they didn't suspect anything, but I knew that that wouldn't last long. Just like that Mariah or Maria or whatever is such a danger to you. You may be the Queen Bee at Pineridge, but when they started investigating the case again you'll become nothing but a prissy little Prison Princess."  
  
Bulma shook her head. She would not fall for these lies so easily! "You just want to make sure that you have some kind of sick hold on me. Well, let me tell you, you can't scare me with that trick. You've never killed anybody, and we both know it."  
  
"Do we?" Vejita queried, the smirk replaced by a solemn frown. "I'm not telling you this for amusement, woman."  
  
"Then why?" Bulma demanded. "Why, Vejita? You think that we can team up or something, live up to Chichi's whole 'Bonnie and Clyde' idea?"  
  
"No--but it sounds like a reasonable idea. Think of the mall--we've lived up to that reputation already. We're both in a tight situation here. If we can somehow get people to forget the things that they think they know about both you AND me, then maybe we can finally be rid of all of the foolish accusations."  
  
Bulma was doubtful. "We would have to pull one hell of a trick to make them forget something like that. And I'm telling you right now, I'm not going to do anything that's going to get me locked up."  
  
"Who says we're gonna let ourselves get caught?" Vejita asked. "Nobody has to know but the people we choose."  
  
"That's right," Bulma mumbled to herself. "The only people who know that I did it are..." She looked up at Vejita, her bright blue eyes wide. "I'm not going to do anything that's going to hurt them. They're my FRIENDS. We've been partying and stuff together since the sixth grade!"  
  
"It might seem like it now," Vejita quietly, darkly. His eyes were hard with the rememberance of earlier events. "But the moment that they are bribed, threatened, whatever, they won't hesitate to use whatever they can against you."  
  
"That's ridiculous," Bulma scoffed, but she was already half won over by the seriousness of Vejita's mannerism.   
  
"Tell that to me after that harpy of a friend of yours is competing against you for Prom Queen, and your little secret is her desperate ticket to the top."  
  
Bulma was saved from having to answer, because at that moment her father and several collegues came ambling into the room, intent on having a mid-afternoon drink. Vejita stood and started to leave, trying to hide his identity from Dr. Briefs, who know of his controversial nature from his father. He was not sneaky enough. Dr. Briefs looked at him quizzically as he left and slammed the front door behind him. Bulma watched him, too, until her father snapped his fingers in front of her face.  
  
"Care to explain?"  
  
Bulma smiled and hurried to make martinis for her father and his coworkers, who were also watching her curiously. "He was just asking me a question about the football game next week. They're uh...changing the time around a bit, and since I'm the captain of the cheerleading team, he figured that I would be the first to know." She beamed her most kiss-ass smile and handed her father his drink. "Enjoy."  
  
  
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(A/N): Sorry about the slow update. I've been very busy lately, and I spent all of yesterday in the hospital for my stupid back. Its a long story, but in short I was dirtbiking with my boyfriend (who, is by the way, who I've modeled Vejita after in many of my fics...:-)...) and he swerved to avoid an unexpected obstacle and we were both thrown off the bike. He got off easy but I screwed up my back or something like that, so now I have THAT to deal with. Umm...I'm not going to be able to update from Christmas Eve to January 6th because I'm going to be attending many Christmas parties, and then I'm off to Fort Lauderdale! I can't wait! But anyway I'll try to fit in as many chapters as I can between now and then, okay? Now come on guys, I need some more reviews for this fic! Please do me a favor and click that button right down there! Ja ne!  
  
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	5. Victim Number Two

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER FOUR: Victim Number Two  
  
  
  
  
Bulma went to school the next day quite composed, even though beneath the cool demeaner she felt like a bomb ready to explode. She wore no jewels that day, because they reminded her of Vejita, but rather one of her most casual ensembles--a faded pair of jeans with a brown belt, a three-quarter length sleeved turtleneck, and a ski vest. She was always ready to smile at a passing aquaintence, and she was even pretty pleasant to Chichi and Goku, who had so irked her the day before. It was then that Chichi, who had known Bulma for so long, began to suspect something.  
  
"What's wrong?" she pried at lunch that day. "You seem so...uplifted."  
  
"And what's wrong with that?" Bulma asked, offering another tight, fake smile. "Am I usually depressed or something?"  
  
"Well..." Chichi trailed off. "Sometimes. But WE understand, so it isn't so bad."  
  
Bulma set down her pop and regarded Chichi seriously. "WHAT do you understand?"  
  
Goku put a hand on her arm before Chichi could reply. "Its okay, Bulma, I don't think she's trying to imply anything. By the way, have you seen Vejita today? I need to talk to him about the game tonight."  
  
Bulma's eyes went involuntarily to his usual table, and found him watching her with an odd gleam in his eyes. A cold chill went down her spine, and she was forced to look away. She could not seem to shake the image of him pushing that poor kid off of the edge of the quarry pool out of her mind--God knew she had dreamed of it enough last night. "No, I haven't. He's probably over where he usually is, laughing at the general predictability of the student population."  
  
At that tense moment Yamcha and Krillen came back to the table, carrying their food. Bulma did not miss the longing glance Yamcha shot in her direction, nor did she miss his sliding down closer to where she and Chichi were sitting. It was at moments like these that she just couldn't understand what she had ever seen in such an annoying guy. And he played BASKETBALL, for God's sake! Wasn't it an unspoken rule that the head cheerleader dated a football player? Shaking her head at her past judgement, she turned away from him and rested her chin on her hands.   
  
She becoming more and more edgy and nervous about the night's upcoming football game, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because of the fact that Vejita would be there, or maybe it was because she hadn't gotten very much sleep the night before. But even though she had only dismissed it as bad intuition, the feeling proved to be correct when, later that afternoon, after school, she met Vejita's eyes when the players were jogging past the area where she was leading Chichi and her fellow cheerleaders through a cheer. They held that horrible, mischevious look they had that day at the mall, and it was then that she knew that somebody's social fate was about to be decided. But Bulma, determined not to let the others see her moment of weakness, pushed them on doggedly, demanding more than she knew that they could give, but she didn't care. She just wanted to wipe that suspicious look off of Chichi's face.  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
The night's game was going quite smoothly up until halftime, when Vejita slipped away from under the nose of his coaches and approached Bulma as she fixed her ponytail, unsuspecting. At his dark glare, the other girls scattered like leaves in the wind, leaving them alone. Well, kind of. The crowd bustled about behind them, hurrying to get a warm drink before the game resumed again. Neither of the two paid them any attention.  
  
"What do you want?" Bulma asked coldly, gazing into her compact mirror as if every cell in her body wasn't acutely aware of Vejita's presence. "I have to hurry up and get ready for the second half, and so do you."  
  
She nearly dropped her mirror when she felt Vejita's hands on her shoulders. She took a deep breath and tried to shake away, but was unsuccessful. "What do you want?!" she snapped, not liking him standing behind her, where she couldn't read his face.  
  
"Poor little Bulma, clamming up at the first signs of trouble," Vejita said quietly, so only Bulma, and not the passing crowd, could hear. "You act as if I'm going to suggest murdering somebody."  
  
"It wouldn't surprise me," Bulma retorted, turning around to face him. "Is that why you came over here, to order me around like your little pet?"  
  
"More or less," Vejita admitted, smirking. "But don't think for a second that I'm going to miss out on all the fun. I have an idea, and I think that even you will like it."  
  
Bulma grimaced. "I wouldn't bet on it."  
  
"Shut up, woman," Vejita said, growing irritated with her resistance. "What happened to the girl who was so eager to participate at the mall?"  
  
"Jesus Christ, Vejita!" Bulma exclaimed, chucking her mirror into the half-full bleachers angrily, ignoring the shouts of protest as it shattered near somebody's feet. "How can you expect me to act normally after you show up at my house and confess something like...that!"  
  
"I can expect whatever the hell I want from you," he answered, crossing his arms. He nodded towards the crowd and the other cheerleaders, who were beginning to creep back timidly. "You don't want them to witness a struggle, do you? What would they make of that, do you think?"  
  
Bulma smothered the angry tears that had dared to form in her clear eyes. "You asshole."  
  
"Now, let's not get testy," Vejita said playfully. "This isn't going to be as hard as you think."  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Well, Vejita was wrong. Bulma gritted her teeth and slammed her gym bag down onto the bleachers where Chichi, who had decided to sit this game out, was residing. Once she was certain that nobody had detected her presence, Bulma settled down next to her bag to wait for Vejita, who was going to sneak out of the locker room. Bulma wrapped her bare arms around herself and shivered, waiting for her partner in crime to arrive.  
  
"Boo."  
  
Bulma jumped about a couple feet into the air at this quiet statement. She whirled around to face a grinning Vejita, who had seemed to materialize out of the shadows.   
  
"Very funny," Bulma snapped. "Let's just hurry up and get this done before somebody finds us."  
  
"That won't happen," Vejita assured her. "Not even the bravest pothead would smoke under where that annoying bitch is sitting."  
  
"You got the stuff?" Bulma asked, digging her lighter out of her gym bag.   
  
Vejita smirked and pulled a few packages of fireworks out of the pocket of his sweater. "You underestimate me. Now let's get this little party started, shall we?"  
  
Bulma had to admit to herself that she rather enjoyed the thrill of setting up their latest prank, especially since she knew how much this would startle her unsuspecting friend. And the more she listened, the more Vejita's continuous coaxing and suggesting seemed to make sense. What WOULD happen if one of them ratted on her? Shaking her head in renewed fury, she went about her work with determination. As Vejita had predicted, they finished in plenty of time to get back before the second half.   
  
The team had just scored a spectacular touchdown, orchestrated by none other than Vejita, of course, and Bulma had just gotten around to becoming somewhat relaxed again when the fireworks went off. People in the bleachers scattered in every direction, throwing themselves out of range of the multi-colored sparks and lights. Bulma watched in horror as Chichi's uniform and hair went up in flames, and the shocked girl nearly threw herself off of the bleachers trying to extinguish them. It was an awesome performance, and Bulma knew that people would be talking about it for months.  
  
It wasn't until five minutes later that an ambulance arrived, and the fires started on Chichi had long been extinguished, but she suffered from many burns, a ruined uniform, and loss of about five inches of her precious glossy black hair. Bulma was right beside her as they lifted her into the ambulance, and felt like bursting into tears at the knowledge that this, at least partly, had been her fault. She silently racked up her score of victims to two. But when she felt the strong presence of Vejita behind her, she pulled away and let Goku travel to the hospital with her. Ironically, a few fireworks were still going off.  
  
"Damn," Vejita breathed. "That went off better than I thought it would."  
  
Bulma wiped away a tear and stalked away from him, desperately wishing that she were safe in her car, on her way home and away from all of this. "I'm glad that at least you enjoyed it."  
  
Vejita followed her to her car. She didn't notice him until he opened her door for her and offered a half-grin. "Your limo awaits, Your Majesty."  
  
"Bite me, Vejita," Bulma growled, attempting to shut the door. She could not get the image of Chichi's tortured screams as she tried to smother the flames consuming her clothing and hair. But Vejita's strong grip prevented her from escaping so easily. "Leave me alone! I don't want to do this anymore!"  
  
"Its too late." Vejita's voice was low and dangerous. "You've already started, and you can't stop now." He daringly reached out and grabbed her chin, lifting it towards him. Stubborn tears streamed down her young face. "We're an undefeatable team, woman, even you can't deny that." After another long, intense look, he shut her door and backed away, holding her eyes until her car pulled away.  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Late that night, Bulma shot up in her bed. Her red-rimmed eyes widened in sudden realization. Her list of victims had increased far more than she had thought. Chichi was not her most recent victim. Thinking back to the parking lot, where she had once again succumbed to Vejita's pryings, she added a third person to the list. The most affected person yet.  
  
Herself.  
  
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(A/N): Yes, I know this is a painfully short chapter. The shortest yet, I think, but I just had to get something posted before the holidays, just to make up for the long vactation that I'll be taking from the 27th to the 4th of next year. I hope that you have enjoyed this most recent turn of events, and that you'll reward the early present with a present of your own--a review! LOL I'm hopeless, I know, but its how I survive. Without your support, I would quite honestly be nowhere, so indulge me one more time. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (Sorry if thats misspelled, I'm not Jewish!), Happy Kwanzaa, whatever! Ja ne! Rhapsody~*  
  
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	6. A New Perspective

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER FIVE: A New Perspective  
  
  
  
  
Vejita was especially relieved that this was a weekend. He did not think that he could put up with any more of the school's bullshit without blowing up again. With a frustrated scowl, he set about making his way from his bed to the shower, where he contemplated just what he was going to do with himself all day. The option of hanging out at the mall was a definite no, considering recent events. Besides, he had in his possession all of the things he wanted from there, anyway, and he hadn't even had to pay for them. You just couldn't top that.   
  
Unconsciously, his thoughts strayed to Bulma, the poor little girl who had been so easy to manipulate. Vejita was almost certain that he had her under complete control now. The incident with Chichi had really been a winner, and he was sure that the sight of her best friend going up in flames was one that would stick with her for a long time. The strange thing about all of that was the fact that Vejita wasn't sure whether he wanted her beaten in submission or not. Her attitude and unwillingness to participate in most of his schemes was something that he was beginning to see as attractive--even amusing. Though he would never admit it, Bulma was an excellent companion. They complimented each other perfectly.   
  
After stepping out of the shower and reluctantly dressing himself, Vejita forced himself to put forward some effort and drive over to the gym, where he knew from experience that Goku would be working out, most likely to get his mind off of his poor little girlfriend. Vejita supressed the urge to smirk as he entered the familiar building and immediately saw Goku desperately running on the treadmill, sweat soaking through his clothing already.   
  
"Had a long night?" he asked as he approached the machine.   
  
Goku hardly looked over at him. "Of course I did! Poor Chichi, she had no idea what happened until I explained it to her. I think she was more scared than pissed off, for once."  
  
"A nice change." Vejita pulled the plug on the treadmill and leaned back mildly as Goku tripped and nearly fell on his face.   
  
"Hardly!" Goku exclaimed. "Its really starting to freak me out."  
  
"Then you're a dumbass, because you're the only one who won't welcome the change."  
  
"Hey, Vejita..." Goku started, a bit uncertainly. "You didn't do it, did you?"  
  
Vejita half-smiled and crossed his arms. "You're accusing ME? Believe me, if I were the only one behind it, she would still be on fire."  
  
"So you're saying that you DIDN'T do it?"  
  
"No," Vejita allowed, enjoying this little game. "Are you saying that I am?"  
  
Goku sighed and started up the treadmill again, watching Vejita out of the corner of his eyes. "Alright, Vejita. I'll back off. I just really, really hope that it wasn't you."  
  
Vejita was curious in spite of himself. "Why?"  
  
Goku considered his answer. "Because I didn't think that even you could be that cruel."  
  
"Right." Vejita hid his frown and turned away. To cover up his discomfort, he scanned the gym impatiently. "Dammit, where's service when you need it around here?"  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Bulma went to see Chichi at the hospital that day. She wasn't sure why, because she felt as if the truth would come bursting out of her at any second, but what was left of her good conscience would not allow her to completely ignore her friend. To lessen the reality of the loss of so much of Chichi's beloved hair and for all of the charred skin, she wore her hair up in a tight chignon and kept the skin factor to a minimum in a ski jacket and blue jeans.   
  
Chichi was silent as she entered the room. She watched Bulma with her accusing brown eyes for a few minutes before speaking. "I suppose you've come here to offer your condolences."  
  
"Yes, I have," Bulma said, taking a seat next to the hospital bed. "I know you've probably heard this a million times by now, but I'm really sorry about...well, everything." She saw Chichi's butchered locks spread in a pathetic, tiny halo around her head and almost gave in to guilty tears. She could not even bring herself to imagine what her burns looked like. "Your beautiful hair, Chi...and...oh my God." She reached out a tentative hand to touch them, but it was slapped away indifferently.  
  
"Remember how horrible it looks, Bulma," Chichi spat quietly. "I want it to make you feel that much worse about what you've gone and done to me."  
  
Bulma was speechless. She stood and crossed her arms defensively. "I don't know what you're talking about! How dare you accuse me of doing such a thing! I'm your best friend, for God's sake!"  
  
"You WERE my best friend," Chichi said. "I don't know about that anymore. The whole school will be laughing at me now, thanks to you and whoever you got to help you. That asshole Vejita, probably. But of course, none of that matters because you're Bulma Briefs, Pineridge's Princess."  
  
"Oh come on, don't be silly--"   
  
Chichi cut her off with a wave of her hand. "Leave! Right now. Seeing you here is making me sick." She turned her head away from Bulma, clearly dismissing her. Forever.  
  
Bulma lifted her chin, shot her ex-friend one last venomous look, and strutted out of the hospital, now even more determined not to let anything hold her down. Vejita had been right. Look how fast Chichi had turned on her, her very own best friend! Not to mention the most popular girl in the entire school. They were a treacherous bunch, clearly.   
  
"'Leave, Bulma, leave right now'!" Bulma mocked to herself as she slid into the drivers' seat of her car. "Sure, Chichi, I'll leave all right. You can forget any social advantages from here on out." Before she pulled out of her parking space (an illegally chosen Handicap parking space, to be exact), she childishly stuck out her tongue in the direction of Chichi's window. "I don't need anybody's support--especially not yours!"  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Not even three hours later, Bulma received a phone call from none other than Goku, the last person she had been expecting to hear from. It wasn't as if she were expecting a call from anybody, she reminded herself, especially not Vejita or anything. She froze with her hand on the phone for a moment. Vejita? Where had THAT come from? She shook her head and picked up the receiver, praying to God that it wasn't Chichi in a fit of anger. What it actually was turned out to be was much worse.  
  
"You know Bulma," Goku started. "You aren't the ruler of the universe. You can't control everybody's lives all of the time, and not everybody has to worship you."  
  
Bulma was taken aback. "Goku? Is that you? What the hell is THIS about?"  
  
"This is about Chichi, and you know it!" Goku sounded genuinely upset. "She told me that you visited her today, and that you practically admitted to pulling that cheap trick last night."  
  
"What?!" Bulma exclaimed incredulously. "Goku--how could you be saying these things? You know that I didn't do it! I'm surprised that you didn't accuse Vejita. Since when am I public enemy number one?!"  
  
Goku's voice was solemn. "I did accuse Vejita, and he practically admitted it also. But he hinted that he had some kind of accomplice, and who else but you?"  
  
"Me?" Bulma feigned surprise. "Why in the world would Vejita pick ME?"  
  
Goku chuckled. "I seem to recall an escapade at the shopping mall and oh yes, the faulty drinking fountain! If you would just admit it, Bulma, then I could at least start trying to forgive you. Keyword being 'try'."  
  
"Goku, we're practically best friends!" Bulma protested, tightening her grip on the phone. "How could you put this over MY head? Those were little pranks, and nobody was hurt in the process. You know that I wouldn't pull something like this after...Mariah and all that." She gritted her teeth at the unpleasant memory and prayed that Goku would believe the lie.   
  
But she had no such luck. The dial tone that followed was far more stinging than any of Goku's comebacks could ever be. With shaky fingers, she returned the receiver to its cradle and sighed, massaging her temples in a slow, gentle rhythm.   
  
"God help me," she muttered to herself. "Vejita was right."  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Whether it was coincidence or deliberate, somehow Vejita managed to show up at the local coffee shop not even five minutes after Bulma arrived. The small building was filled to the brim with lounging students and business people off for lunch--it was a real hotspot for local people. Vejita spotted Bulma almost immediately sipping a french vanilla latte at the window table. She was wearing a pair of slightly fitted sweatpants and a matching sweater--a surprisingly careless outfit, and completely uncharacteristic of the usually glamorous girl. Her expression was dark and serious, and she was gripping her large coffee like it was a lifeline. She, however, did not notice him until he slid into the chair across from her and proceeded to gaze out the window at all of the people passing by.   
  
Bulma lifted her wide eyes in recognition and sighed a deep, heavy sigh. "You do know that I lost both Goku AND Chichi today, right? And I owe it all to you and your stupid ideas." Leaning back in her chair, she finished the last of her drink and slammed it back onto the table. "And even though I've gone through all of that, I'm starting to think that you were right about them. My friends, I mean."  
  
"How so?" Vejita asked, satisfied with her new perspective on things. He couldn't have asked for a better reaction.  
  
"They all turned on me at the drop of a hat," Bulma pouted. "They had absolutely no reason to believe that I would pull that sort of thing. Chichi's my BEST FRIEND and they still turned on me! I've never heard Goku be so...aggressive...before."  
  
Vejita scowled. "Of course they turned on you. I told you that they would. Have you ever known me to be wrong?"  
  
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Bulma left the question unanswered and leaned forward quizzically to study her partner. "If you had such a bad experience with a prank, then why do you still pull them?"  
  
"What is this--twenty questions?" Vejita snapped. After a moment's thought, however, he reconsidered the question. "When a racecar driver gets in an accident, why doesn't he stop racing? Its the same thing. I stick with what I'm good at and what I enjoy doing, woman, and maybe you should start doing the same thing. Its obvious that you enjoy the planning that comes with pulling a stunt, but you clam up as soon as the smoke clears."  
  
"And who wouldn't?" Bulma asked. "Only a psychopath could enjoy that kind of thing."  
  
"Then lock me up and send me to the asylum, because I sure have one hell of a time," Vejita retorted, stretching his arms above his head lazily. "Believe me, it gets easier with experience."  
  
Bulma snorted. "Well that's a comforting thought if I ever heard one."  
  
"Look at it like this," Vejita started, leaning forward towards Bulma also. "If you go back to those fools now, they're gonna learn that all it takes to break you is a little intimidation. But, if you just ignore all of their bullshit and rise above it like nothing happened, then its THEM that will come crawling back to YOU with apologies."  
  
Bulma watched him with amazement. "Is this how you've been living your life? Breaking and bending people to suit you?"  
  
Vejita smirked. "Yeah, pretty much."  
  
"I don't know if I could live like that," Bulma said doubtfully. "Its no wonder you are such a loner."  
  
"Come on Bonnie," Vejita mock-begged. "Clyde can't do his thing without an accomplice."  
  
Bulma grinned slowly, extending her hand. "How could I possibly refuse? I'm in."  
  
Vejita shook her hand quickly and half-smiled in victory. "Now we can get started with the REAL fun."  
  
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(A/N): I'm baaaccckkkk! And how I wish I wasn't! Its sooo nice down in Ft. Lauderdale right now, let me tell you. I could live there all year round, if I didn't love snow so damned much. Anyway sorry about the long wait! If it makes you feel any better, I wrote this chapter in two hours just so I could get it posted right away. See, I really am trying! Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews on the last chapter, I'm extremely grateful! And to Stef-chan: Thanks for finally completing "A Shoulder to Lean On III", I was rapturous when I found out it was done! And don't take any shit from all of those complainers out there--your story is YOUR story, and you have the right to end it just the way you want! And with all of that behind us, commence with the reviewing! All forms of compliments are gratefully accepted, LoL! But critism is alright, too, so feel free to bitch me out if you'd like, God knows I'VE done it enough in my lifetime. Ja ne! REVIEWS PLZ!   
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	7. Chairlift Capers

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER SIX: Chair-lift Capers  
  
  
  
  
Sunday morning found Bulma rushing out the front door with a wary eye on her father's security cameras and a tight grip on the front of her jacket. She could only hope that her father would not notice her snowboarding pants and boots. He was not a fan of anything that had the potential of injury, especially where his precious only daughter was involved. With a final glance back at her house, she hurried down the street where a red sports car awaited her. With a sigh of relief, she ducked in and flashed Vejita an unusually cheery smile.   
  
"What's got you so slap-happy today?" Vejita snarled in reply. "Its a Sunday morning, cut the shit already!"  
  
Bulma's grin never faltered. "Well, not only do I now have a clear, orderly state of mind going on, but I was able to find us some entertainment." She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out two e-tickets. "Word on the street is that the mountain is open today, and we'll want to get there early so we get the best boards, of course." She nodded in the direction of the local ski place and tapped the dashboard of the purring car. "Come on, it'll be great."  
  
"Sounds like a waste of time to me," Vejita retorted. "Too many security people."  
  
"Oh come on, Vejita," Bulma nagged. "Its common knowledge that you are the best boarder around. I want to see if its true." She grinned mischeviously. "You aren't scared that you'll make an ass of yourself, are you?"  
  
"I won't be fooled with your empty challenges, woman." Nevertheless, Vejita shifted into gear and surged forward in the direction of the mountain. "Its my snowboarding prowess thats motivating this little trip. And the only person who's going to be making an ass of themself is YOU."  
  
Bulma shook her head. "You may think so, but snowboarding is an excellent social activity. I'm actually getting better than Goku." Her expression darkened suddenly. "Not that I'll be having much chance for comparision anymore."  
  
Vejita did not reply. Instead he observed his companion out of the corner of his eyes. She wore a cute little purple hat over her loose, straight hair, a black ski jacket, black snowboarding pants, and a pair of purple boots that matched her hat. She was, of course, wearing light makeup. The usually unshakable guy had been very surprised when Bulma had called his house early that morning to inform him that he was to pick her up at 9:00 sharp because they were going for a little 'adventure'. It was an offer he could not refuse, though he had feigned reluctance quite successfully. The truth was, he was growing to enjoy her company more and more, and her flawless looks were definitely something he had taken to looking forward to.   
  
"And don't worry about tight security," Bulma nonchalantly added. "On the advanced slope there are never many people around--nobody that works there, anyway. There will plenty of opprotunity for you to make some trouble, trust me."  
  
They spent the rest of the short car trip in silence. Bulma stared out the window, wondering just what had possessed her to actually CALL Vejita and invite him along snowboarding, while Vejita alternated between watching the road and fighting off the effects Bulma's flowery perfume was having on him. When they found a reasonable parking space, he slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car, always eager to participate in one of his peak sports. Bulma hurried to catch up.  
  
"You should have told me where we were going, you idiot!" Vejita protested. "Then I could have spared myself the experience of riding somebody else's shitty old board."  
  
Bulma rolled her eyes. "Boo-hoo! I've never been here without Chichi moaning and groaning behind me every step of the way, and I plan to make the most of it."  
  
"Must you include HER in everything you say?"  
  
"I'm sorry, but she was my fucking BEST FRIEND until yesterday, so its kinda hard not to." Bulma slammed open the door of the building. "Must YOU be so irritable? We're about to do one of your favorite things, for God's sake."  
  
Vejita had to smirk at her attitude. He had no chance to reply, however, because at that moment they arrived at the counter and were given the opprotunity to choose from one of many 'shitty old boards'. Bulma, not unexpectedly, chose a purple one and Vejita, also not surprisingly, chose a black and red one that was, according to him, 'the least shitty board they have in this dump'. They immediately headed for the advanced slope, where, as Bulma had predicted, was nearly deserted. Only a few preteen show-offs were present, and the wheels in Vejita's devious mind began to turn at the sight of them. The easy targets also caught the attention of Bulma, who resented their lusty stares in her direction. She was so engrossed in her thinking that she was taken completely by surprise when Vejita adjusted his position and proceeded down the mountain, leaving Bulma to hurry hastily after him.   
  
True to the rumors, Vejita was an extremely skilled snowboarder, and it was all Bulma could do to keep up, let alone match the many tricks and flourishes Vejita added to his riding. He only looked back once, and that was just to be sure that she wasn't sliding down the mountain on her ass instead of on her board. She gestured for him to slow down, and when he flipped her off, stopped suddenly and left him to go down the remaining part of the slope alone. Vejita, however, stopped almost the moment she did.   
  
"What the fuck?!" he shouted up to her angrily. "We were having a good run, woman, and then you STOP?!"  
  
Bulma put her hands on her hips. "YOU were having a good run! If you would have glanced back ONCE, you would have seen ME struggling to keep up!" Carefully, she made her way down beside him and pushed her goggles back up into her hair so she could look at him. "What is it, you don't love me anymore?" She batted her eyelashes jokingly up at the expressionless Vejita. When Vejita did not answer, she narrowed her eyes, but wisely did not say anything more.   
  
"Let's go," Vejita insisted tersely. "Its fucking COLD out here."  
  
Bulma watched as he went ahead, staring after him hopelessly. It was starting to look as if she had a lot to learn about her dark companion. "Here we go again." After a quick sigh, she hurried off after him once again.  
  
She reached the bottom of the mountain about three minutes after Vejita did, thanks to an unlucky incident involving the nose of her snowboard and a rather large pine tree, and found him observing the same group of younger kids with a decided interest. She unstrapped herself from the board and went to his side.  
  
"Easy prey, huh?"   
  
Vejita nodded. "I'm thinking that they're about to have a chance encounter with the chair lift."  
  
Bulma giggled quietly. "And just how are we going to lure them back up the mountain again?"  
  
"We?" Vejita looked down at the unsuspecting Bulma with an unusual twinkle in his black eyes. "Not this time, woman..."  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
Bulma shed her jacket, revealing the curve-hugging turtleneck she was wearing underneath, and sauntered over to where the group of three preteen boys that were arguing about whether they should go for another run or not. The tallest one seemed to be the ringleader of the group, and was strongly opposed to the idea. But when Bulma approached them with her board in tow, his opinion seemed to change--and rather quickly.  
  
"Hello boys," she purred, putting her hands on her hips and offering a sultry smile. "Care to join me and my friend for one last run?" At their dumbfounded expressions, her lips curled into a smirk. "I promise that it'll be...worth your while."  
  
"S-s-sure!" the ringleader agreed. His companions seemed to have no protests.  
  
Bulma turned and sashayed over to where Vejita was impatiently waiting with a smoldering glare. To keep the boys from getting too forward, she looped an arm around Vejita's waist and gave a little squeeze. "We'd LOVE to have you boys along!"  
  
Vejita glowered beneath the cool expression he was forced to maintain. While he was most definitely looking forward to the rewarding prank ahead, he wasn't at all sure that he liked Bulma flirting so freely with anyone else but...well, anyone. Since he was by no means a shy person, he welcomed Bulma's supposed staged action and returned the favor by pulling her ever so much closer. The warmth coming from her tiny little body was welcomed with a small flicker of a smirk, most of which he held back. He cast a sideways look over towards where the three boys were following them like ducklings, with all of their attention focused on Bulma, who was completely engrossed in her act, of course. The chair-lift loomed ahead.  
  
"You don't mind if we head for the tallest slope, do you?" Bulma pleaded with wide, falsely-innocent eyes. "We need some pointers, and I'm SURE that YOU could help us with THAT."  
  
Vejita resisted the urge to vomit all over his boots. "Speak for yourself, woman," he muttered under his breath. Bulma, however, overheard and elbowed him lightly in the ribs. "Oh yes, POINTERS. Gotta love 'em..." After seeing the boys' eyes light up, he silently reminded himself never to plan another prank where he had to act inferior to the victims in any way, shape, or form.   
  
They stepped onto the chair-lift without much trouble. Bulma ended up across from Vejita instead of next to him, which would have been ideal, but the boys were starting to develop minds of their own and had rushed ahead of Vejita, who almost lost it at that point. Bulma shot him a sideways glare when he gave them dirty looks and flipped her hair over her shoulder, which caught all of the boys' attention pretty quick.  
  
"So, what are your names?" she asked lightly, twisting a strand of hair around her finger and snapping her gum. Hey, it worked in the movies! "I bet that we're all gonna have sooo much fun!" Vejita rolled his eyes at her feigned ditziness, but she didn't notice.  
  
One of them spoke up. "I'm Nathan, a-and that's Brian, and he's Steve!"  
  
"Aww, those are very cute names!" Bulma gushed. "My name is Lindsey, and his name is uh...Vin." She giggled inwardly at the impromptu name, and also at how ironic the comparison between Vejita and the uh, REAL Vin was. (A/N: Sorry, I'm a HUGE fan!) The irritated frown on Vejita's face confirmed this. "But since like, all my friends call me Linz, then I guess you guys can too, kay?"  
  
They didn't get a chance to reply, because it was at that moment that the chair-lift suddenly jolted to a sudden stop, sending Bulma into the lap of Vejita who, under any other circumstances, wouldn't have minded much. Bulma jumped up and back into her seat, her expression confused and a bit dazed.   
  
"What the hell was THAT?" she demanded, letting a bit of her real personality show through. Realizing her mistake, she groaned and crossed her arms. "Dammit! Why can't something go RIGHT for a change?!"  
  
The boys, suddenly realizing that their beloved 'Linz' was in fact, false, gave each other worried looks and huddled a little bit closer to each other. Vejita ran a hand through his hair in frustration and suddenly got to his feet.  
  
"Okay, show's over!" he shouted, gesturing angrily. "Snowboards on, pants off!"  
  
The three stared, puzzled, at Vejita for a few tense moments before comprehending. The 'leader' of the small group swallowed the impeding vomit that threatened to spill over and obeyed. His two friends were quick to follow his example, and in no time Bulma and Vejita had three preteen boys in their boxers to reckon with. After making sure that their boards were securing fastened, the two instructed them to lodge their snowboards between the openings in the floor of the chair-lift and soon enough they were dangling, head-first, high above the snow-covered mountain below, fighting off frightened tears with all that they had.   
  
In regards to their dilemma, Bulma gripped Vejita's arm in sudden panic. "Oh my God! We're STUCK up here! If we get caught, they're will be hell to pay."  
  
But Vejita had already analyzed THIS situation. "This is simple enough. We're only what, sixty feet above the ground?" He leaned out of the chair-lift precariously, mentally judging the situation.  
  
"What do you think?" Bulma asked anxiously. "Oh shit, this is the first time something's gone wrong, and look at how horrible it is! This had BETTER not become a pattern, Vejita, or else I'll--"   
  
She was not given a chance to go on because just then Vejita wrapped his arms around her waist and flung himself off of the chair-lift, bringing Bulma along for the terrifying ride. Much to his amusement, she screamed the entire way down. Luckily for them, the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow, and Vejita was on the bottom. Bulma remained in her fallen position astride Vejita for a few moments, regaining her composure. The slightly disoriented Vejita studied her through narrowed eyes. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were still wide in surprise and fear, though they were partly hidden behind a curtain of disheveled hair. He fought back the urge to reach out and touch her.  
  
"Holy--shit..." Bulma stammered between breaths. She paid no attention to the fact that she was still straddled over Vejita's waist. "Vejita--if--you--ever--do--that to me--again--I'll--be forced--to do something...that you are really--REALLY going--to regret."  
  
"Oh really?" Vejita challenged. "Like what, deliver a nice little bitchslap?"  
  
Bulma leaned back for a moment to brush her hair out of her face, then leaned towards Vejita again, her blue eyes twinkling with amusement and anticipation. "I can't be sure, but I just might kiss you." Much to Vejita's surprise, he suddenly found himself kissing Bulma Briefs, the previously unattainable trophy-girl of Pineridge High School. When it finally ended, Bulma rolled off of her partner in crime and lay on her back in the snow, hardly believing what had just happened. Vejita remained still beside her, also unsure of what to do or say next.  
  
In the distance, three half-naked boys dangled by their snowboards from the chair-lift (now back running again), heading back towards the main building, where the usual crowd of weekend snowboarders awaited them.  
  
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(A/N): Awww, its brutal to see that thin black line, isn't it folks? Mwhahahhahhahaaa, how I LOVE a good cliffhanger. Its the essence of every fanfiction, truly. Don't you agree? Haha anyway this story is starting to move along quite nicely. I'm thinking maybe another five or six chapters, then Rhapsody's got another one in the bag! Woo-hoo! Of course, it isn't as easy as I'm pretending its going to be, but let me dream people, let me dream. I've developed quite an interesting idea for my next story, and its something that I've honestly never even thought of trying before. E-mail me for details, I'd love some more opinions! I would post the idea here, but there are so many idea-hungry people out there, I'd be too scared that somebody would snatch it up and call it their own! I've seen it done, so believe me, it happens! All that I can tell you is that its gonna be another B/V (Sorry its all that I can bear to write! LoL!), and that its gonna take place in a VERY A/U-ish (Haha, new word!) setting, and plot is gonna be pretty far out, but I think that you'll all enjoy it. Wow, I'm going to STOP blabbing now, and leave you with this final message: REVIEW PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! ITS WHY I DO THIS! BOOST AN EGO, WHY DON'T YOU?!! Ahem...umm....yeah...please review.... ^___^;;  
  
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	8. That' Glow

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER SEVEN: 'That' Glow  
  
  
  
  
Vejita sat up first, more to his own surprise than to Bulma's, who's head was still spinning like a top. He glanced over at her once, then stood, brushed the snow off of his clothing, and gathered up his snowboard. Bulma sat up, but was not so quick to get herself back in order. She moved a finger to her lips hesitantly, then pulled it away and sighed.  
  
"Today, woman!" Vejita demanded, strapping himself into his snowboard. "Those kids are going to tell somebody what happened as soon as they get their pants back on."  
  
"That's all you can manage to say?" Bulma asked incredulously. "'Today, woman'? Please, Vejita, spare me." She stood and didn't bother to brush herself off. Instead she grabbed her snowboard and began carrying it down the mountain, her expression stormy.   
  
Vejita watched her leave for a few moments before recovering from the shock of her bluntness. He had quite honestly expected her to act as if the kiss had never even happened. She had brushed off all of the other little things that he might have slipped in here and there such as the extra contact when they were luring the three boys in, or the accidental compliment he had given her that night after the whole shopping mall ordeal, and that had led him to believe that SHE was the holding back from HIM. He shook his head and hurried after her, something he hated himself for doing. For some reason, he did not want this particular girl to get away so easily.  
  
"I could manage to say a lot more than that," he said quietly, once he had fallen into step beside her. Bulma raised an eyebrow but otherwise did not comment. Vejita growled in frustration and stepped in front of her. "Listen, what the hell do you want me to say?"  
  
"You could have at least been a bit NICER," Bulma snapped. "When somebody kisses you, you just don't react with a command, and especially not one that...indifferent! You either return the favor or--or...make a 'suggestion', if you know what I mean."  
  
"Okay then!" Vejita mocked a desperate expression and got down on his knees before Bulma, who started in surprise. "Hey baby, why don't you plant ANOTHER one on me? There is nothing that I would rather do..." He stopped for a moment, tried to think of something to say, then went on mischeviously. "Than to fuck around with you." At her dazed expression he got back up and chuckled and smirked. "Is that suffiecient enough for you, Miss Sex Pot?"  
  
Bulma couldn't help but smile. "It'll do...for now, anyways." With that said and done, she bent down to strap herself to her snowboard. As she stood back up, she caught Vejita studying her seriously. He, of course, smirked when their eyes met, and then started down the mountain at his usual breakneck speed. "Hey, asshole, wait for me!" Bulma shouted. With a roll of her eyes and a deep sigh, she set off after him, praying to God that she wouldn't lose sight of him.  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Needless to say, school the next day wasn't exactly the most stimulating experience of Chichi's life. She had been released from the hospital late the previous night, and she was most definitely NOT in a good mood. Because of all of the uneven lengths in her now dramatically-shortened hair, she had been forced to cut it even SHORTER, resulted in a Kelly Osbourne-ish cut that did not flatter her round, pale face at all. And, naturally, the burns on various areas of her body weren't very attractive either. Being a secretly vain girl, being in this kind of condition was one of the worst things that Chichi could imagine happening to her. Under normal circumstances, she might have been able to get past it, especially with all of the extra love and support that Goku was giving her, but underneath her mildly-irritated exterior was a deep, burning rage towards the people responsible for doing this to her--Bulma and Vejita, the most unlikely pair SHE could think of.  
  
She was almost to her classroom when she caught a glimpse of Bulma coming towards her with a purposeful expression on her face. Chichi felt the bitter resentment creeping back at the sight of her flawlessly beautiful ex-friend. And to make the jealousy much worse, Bulma seemed to look especially good today. She was generating an unmistakable glow that only came on rare occasions when...  
  
Chichi ducked into a bathroom to escape Bulma. She could hardly believe what she was thinking! Bulma looked just like she did when she and Yamcha decided to...uh, seal their relationship. But it couldnt' be, Chichi reminded herself, Bulma wasn't with anyone, and though she may be a master flirter, she didn't have the reputation of being promiscuous. Then why did she have 'that' glow? Wanting to get a moment alone (the Ladies' Room was swarming with girls touching up their makeup between classes, as usual), Chichi slipped out of the bathroom, and just then, the answer to her questions walked by.  
  
Vejita.  
  
Before she could find a way to stay out of sight, his black eyes met her brown ones and that horrifying, sarcastic smirk that was his trademark appeared on his face. It was then that she knew why Bulma had participated in the cruel prank. Vejita. She also knew just where 'that' glow had come from. Vejita. Chichi shuddered and hurried in the opposite direction, clutching her books to her chest. Yes, she could see how Bulma could be so easily manipulated by the likes of Vejita. She turned and caught a final glimpse of Vejita's well-muscled body before he turned a corner and disappeared. Vejita was just the kind of classic bad-boy that Bulma had always been especially fond of.   
  
"Of all the twisted, disgusting things--"  
  
"HEY CHICHI! OVER HERE!" Goku shouted from across the way, interuppting her mid-sentence. "CHICHI!"  
  
Chichi grinned at the sight of her very own knight-in-shining-armor and hurried to go to him. She nearly melted in his warm, caring embrace and reveled in the thought that Bulma and Vejita would never be able to share such a pure, heartfelt relationship. Goku pulled away and studied her with concerned eyes.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked gently. "You look a bit pale."  
  
"Of course I'm pale!" Chichi exclaimed. "A fucking FIREWORKS SHOW took place five inches under my ass! How would YOUR complexion be?"  
  
Goku laughed heartily, and Chichi's heart skipped a beat. "No, I meant that you look pale-ER!"  
  
Chichi looked down at her feet, then back up at Goku with a triumphant smile. "I think that I've discovered a little something about our local Bonnie and Clyde duo..."  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Bulma tugged at the hem of her blue plaid schoolgirl-skirt and forced a smile as she passed the assistant principal on her way to her locker. She had never worn this outfit before, and a new Bulma Briefs ensemble was always a cause for suspicion with the school administrators, and this was no exception. With its tiny skirt, thigh-high socks, and tied-up cardigan, this outfit was a real winner. But, much to her surprise, she was allowed by. She sighed in relief and walked a little faster, which always helped her to think better.  
  
Chichi had high-tailed it out of there as soon as she caught a glimpse of Bulma, who had merely wanted to work things out between them. Thinking of the deal she and Vejita had struck about working together to pull all of those pranks off, Bulma was half-glad that she hadn't gotten the chance to catch up with her. Perhaps it was as Vejita had said--she was much better off without them. She was Bulma Briefs! She didn't NEED a clique to keep on top. And on top of all that, she had Vejita.  
  
Thinking of yesterday's kiss and Vejita's fake (?) plead for sex, Bulma couldn't help but blush a bit. She was sure that everyone could tell that something was up just by looking at her. She sincerely hoped that Chichi hadn't noticed anything, because if anybody were to guess what had happened, it would be her. She shuddered at the thought. She arrived at her locker and proceeded to select a few books and check her reflection. She almost dropped her entire load when she felt a hand on her waistline. Preparing to slap someone, she whirled around and lifted a hand, which was smoothly caught by a grinning Vejita.  
  
"Why do you have to keep on sneaking up on me like that?" she protested, wresting her arm away from him stubbornly and turning back to her locker. "Hold on a sec. Some people actually CARE about their studies, Vejita."  
  
He chuckled and reached out to close her locker. "Yeah, and you aren't one of them. Come with me."  
  
Bulma sighed and shifted her weight. "Come on Vejita, I've missed a hell of a lot of school on your behalf lately. If I miss much more they're gonna call my parents, and then who knows when I'll be able to get out again?"  
  
"Hey, woman!" Vejita exclaimed, snapping his fingers in front of her face. "Come back to Earth. We have this next class together, dumbass."  
  
"Wha...?" Bulma shook her head and frowned. "Oh. I knew that."  
  
"You're slipping." Vejita began walking towards the classroom, which was right across the hall. "You thought I was going to ask you to CUT? Where'd you get that crazy idea?"  
  
They took their seats, which were almost all the way across the room from each other, and didn't communicate for nearly the entire class. It was when there was a quiet moment during note-taking that Bulma looked up and met Vejita's eyes. He was watching her intently, with an uncharacteristically concentrated look on his face. This time, neither of them looked away. The monotonous droning of the teacher and the occasional whisper of a classmate were drowned out to Bulma's ears until all she could hear was the sound of her own heart pounding in her chest. She felt like there was something that Vejita was trying to communicate, but she wasn't understanding it. They were both brought back to reality by the sound of the bell. Bulma remained in her seat until Vejita had already left and the classroom had emptied.   
  
"Miss Briefs?" her teacher questioned. "Bulma? Is there something wrong? Class is over."  
  
Bulma shook her head and stood hurriedly, scattering her belongings everywhere. "Shit! Nothing's wrong..."  
  
Out in the hallway, Vejita stopped walking and leaned against a set of lockers, exasperated with himself. He had almost given something away just then, something that he was not planning on telling anybody, not even Bulma, about. He ran a hand through his hair, made sure that Bulma was nowhere in sight, and walked out of the school. There was nothing of value that the teachers here could pass on today.  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Bulma came home that day to an empty house, which was not surprising. Her parents had always been exceptionally busy, even during her childhood. She supposed that it was more of a good thing now than it had been then. She remembered being a lonely child, that is, until Mariah came along. At the sudden thoughts of Mariah, Bulma froze in her tracks and took a deep, shaky breath. She was never prepared for the onslaught of guilty feelings whenever THAT subject came up.   
  
"I am so over that," she whispered to herself, entering her dark, echoey house. In this light, it looked almost haunted. "I've been over it for over a year now."  
  
She began taking slow, deliberate steps towards her room, clutching her backpack with spastic fingers. To down the eerie factor, she hummed a tune under her breath, which instead of comforting her, made the house seem even MORE large and frightening. Especially frightening. What would Mariah say to her if she had only realized just who was responsible for her untimely death?  
  
"She wouldn't say a single damned thing!" Bulma shouted to the shadows. "NOTHING! Because she's DEAD!"  
  
The girl quickened her step and ran to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She flicked on the lights and, as she regained her composure, surveyed the room with wide eyes. Reminders of her old friend seemed to pop up everywhere. After Mariah's death, Bulma had discarded every single reminder of her...except for one thing. The picture. She began walking towards where she knew she had stashed it--in the back of her vanity drawer, hiding behind makeup pots and tubes and brushes that had only been a mystery back when she and Mariah had played here.   
  
Bulma pulled the drawer clean out of its spot and set it on her bed as she dug through it. The picture was covered in various colored powders and a bit wrinkled from months of abuse and examination, but the details were burned into Bulma's mind like she had just taken the picture yesterday.  
  
Mariah and Bulma, then somewhere around eleven years old, were inside Mariah's neighbor's barn, playing with that year's litter of kittens among the golden haybales stacked throughout the room. Mariah looked quite pretty, actually. Her gothic makeup and bad hairstyles had masked her beauty as she had grown older, but it was no secret to Bulma that Mariah had always been a pretty girl. Her light brown hair was pulled back away from her face in an innocent ponytail, and she wore relaxed clothing and absolutely no makeup. Bulma herself was casually dressed, though a bit more done up, as usual. Her long hair was piled in a messy bun on top of her head, and though she wasn't wearing very much, you could still see some remnants of sloppily applied makeup. She had just started experimenting with color around that time, and she had obviously come a long way since then.  
  
Bulma smiled faintly at the picture. How innocent and carefree they had been back then! In the back of her mind, somewhere in the deep recesses that hadn't yet been poisoned with guilt and the cruelties of popularity, she desperately wished that she could go back to that time and be that nice little girl again. A tear escaped her shining eyes as she came to a second unexpected revelation; she missed Mariah. Bulma missed her with all of her young heart, and at that moment she began to feel all of the pent-up loneliness that she had been masking for all of these years. Chichi had been a good friend, but no one could hold a candle to the friendship that she and Mariah had shared.  
  
With a heavy heart, Bulma returned the picture to its neglected place and replaced the drawer back into her vanity. When she looked up into her mirror, instead of seeing her arrogant, beautiful face she saw the face of lonely eleven-year-old without a friend in the world.  
  
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(A/N): That last part of the chapter was very...difficult for me to write. I, too, have experienced the loss (though not the death, thank God) of a best friend, and I know how hard it is. Sorry about the reduced length of this chapter! I just didn't want to start mixing things together like a crazy-person, LoL! To Mariah Ashley (sorry if I spelled the pen name wrong!) no, I am not black, but a lot of my friends are, and I most definitely DO have an attitude, and I'm sorry if its offended you in some way...I can't help it! I am just a plain old Mediterrean/Native American white chick with an attitude. Don't be put off by it, I won't bite! ^______^;; Anyway thanks, all of you, for all of the nice reviews you've been leaving! Wow, what is it, 60 now? Yayyyy! Thanks sooooo much everybody! Lets keep the flow going here. And oh yes, if you want to contact me, just e-mail me at HawaiianBabay@aol.com or chat with me sometime (I always love a good chat!)! My screen name is Hawaiian Babay...I hate to be predictable but once again I'll have to leave you on this note---Remember to REVIEW, please!  
  
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	9. The Phone Call

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER EIGHT: The Phone Call  
  
  
  
  
Vejita, much like Bulma, came home after school that day to an empty house, except his house was a much different kind of empty. As in, only one person--him--lived there. Always. He dumped his backpack in the middle of the front hallway and kicked off his shoes, then, as usual, headed for his kitchen to grab a snack before football practice. He caught a glimpse of the snow-covered ground outside and cursed winter for coming so early this year.   
  
Suddenly the sound of the front door opening and being slammed shut were heard, but Vejita remained calm. His visitor was no burglar. Nikolas came slouching in just moments after, trailing wet slush across the floors. Vejita glared at his careless cousin and resumed eating.  
  
"Hey, Vejita, what's up?" Nikolas asked, jumping up to sit on top of the counter in his usual spot. "Your dad is still bitching about you taking off, dude. You've gotta let somebody know where you are sometime. I'm getting sick of keeping your secrets, man."  
  
"Shut up, Nikolas," Vejita snarled, losing his appetite at the mention of his tyrant father. "You know damn well that I'll never go back to live with that asshole."  
  
Nikolas chuckled. "It was worth a try. And by the way--you don't have to lie to me about why you left. I know what happened at the quarry pool, and don't worry, I'm not telling NOBODY."  
  
Vejita shot him a sharp look. "You'd better keep it that way, or I'll be considering pushing YOU off of something, too." He leaned back in his chair and checked his watch, then settled back down. "What the hell are you doing here so early today?"  
  
Nikolas was about to answer, but instead closed his mouth and sniffed the air suspiciously. "Dude, have you had a girl over here recently? It smells like..." He took another sniff and then burst out laughing. Vejita all of a sudden noticed just how much Nikolas reminded him of a donkey. "Fucking WILDFLOWERS, man!"  
  
Bulma, Vejita thought. That was Bulma's scent. He suddenly noticed the smell also, and his eyes went to the jacket he had worn snowboarding the other day, which was still on the floor where he had left it. Bulma must have been wearing it when they had had their close encounter of the oral kind. Vejita scowled and vowed to wash the jacket and break out the Lysol at the first opportunity.  
  
"I didn't bring her here," Vejita snapped defensively. "I'm not a complete idiot! We met up somewhere, jackass."  
  
"Sorr-y!" Nikolas exclaimed, holding up his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Anybody that I've heard of?" Nikolas was a junior at Pineridge, but he didn't come to school enough to really get to know anybody, or else he (obviously) would have already known the answers to his questions.   
  
"Perhaps," Vejita said, getting up and turning towards his room, where his football clothes awaited him. "I've gotta get ready for practice--go bother somebody else."  
  
But Nikolas had also inherited the family trait of stubborness. He followed Vejita into his room, pleading for answers as to the identity of the girl who had managed to 'tame' his wild cousin. If it were any other girl, in any other situation, Vejita would have gladly told him, and perhaps even offered some details, but with Bulma, it was different somehow. And besides that, if they got caught in one of their pranks, there would be hell to pay.  
  
"Its Bulma Briefs," Vejita growled, moving to lock Nikolas out of his room. Irritated at himself for giving in to Nikolas' pathetic questioning, he raised his voice to a shout. "Now get the FUCK out of my house!"  
  
Before he succeeded in closing the door, he caught a fleeting glimpse of the look of disbelief on his cousin's face.  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
Bulma skipped school the next day. Her claim of a pounding headache wasn't completely a lie. She could barely focus on anything without feeling miserable, lingering kind of pain that didn't only come from physical problems. The rememberances of last night were starting to take their toll on the exhausted girl. She buried her face in her soft pillows and began to fiercely regret even taking out that damned picture, let alone allowing herself to THINK about it.   
  
"Damn you, Mariah..."   
  
She let loose a long sigh of discontent and dragged her still-sleeping body out of bed. She tied up her hair sloppily and pulled on whatever it was that she picked up off the floor. She didn't bother with makeup--what was the use? Her parents, thankfully, were gone already, off shopping or working or whatever it was that they did during the day. Bulma usually didn't bother herself with what her parents were doing while she was gone. After washing her face, brushing her teeth, and shoving her feet into a pair of slippers she mosied down the large spiraling staircase and straight into the living room, where the television awaited her.   
  
She had just begun to stick out her third episode of Jerry Springer when the phone on the table next to her rang shrilly. Thinking it was one of those pesky solicitors, she groaned, muted the TV, and picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" she said grumpily.  
  
"Where the hell are you?" came the equally irritated reply. "You're missing a great opportunity here."  
  
Bulma stared at the receiver in bafflement. "Vejita? How did you get this number? Why...?"  
  
"Your father's company number is plastered on the side of nearly every bus and billboard in the state," Vejita explained breezily. "I charmed your home number out of the operator."  
  
Bulma rolled her eyes and turned the sound on the television back on. "You're interuppting my date with Jerry Springer. This had better be good."  
  
"Well, it WOULD have been good if you were here to help me accomplish it."  
  
"Accomplish what?" Bulma asked suspiciously. "You had better not do anything without me there."  
  
"The bitch is--"  
  
Bulma cut him off. "When you say 'the bitch', I assume you mean Chichi?"  
  
Vejita sighed angrily. "Who else? Do you want to shut that gaping hole in your face long enough to hear or not?"  
  
"Fine! Just tell me."  
  
There was a mischevious chuckle on Vejita's line. Bulma found it contagious and smothered a giggle of her own. "She's allergic to vanilla, correct?"  
  
"Yeah...wait...you wouldn't, Vejita!" Bulma sat up in shock. "You could kill her!"  
  
"Not likely," Vejita replied. "She's complaining about the hives she gets when she eats it, and its annoying the hell out of me."  
  
"Don't do it!" Bulma protested. "She might be a bitch, but you never know how she'll react."  
  
"She's asking for it. This shit's COMING to her!" Vejita paused a moment to collect himself, then continued on. "They go away after a few hours, according to her. If she's dumb enough to lie about it, then she deserves to die."  
  
"You're hopeless." Bulma shifted the phone to her other ear and examined her nails absently. "Fine. Do it--but if she dies or something, just remember that I wanted nothing to do with this."  
  
Vejita snorted. "You're the hopeless one. By third period she'll be one huge, walking, talking pillar of disgusting little blemishes."  
  
"Snap a picture for me," Bulma laughed. She was about to say something else when she got a call on the other line. "Hold up a minute, somebody's calling me. Hello?"  
  
"Mrs. Briefs?" Bulma nearly dropped the phone at the sound of Mariah's mother's voice.   
  
She scanned her mind for something to say, but the only thing that she could think of was to impersonate her mother and find out why the woman was calling. She hadn't so much as looked at Bulma or her family since Mariah's funeral, though she had never revealed a reason. Bulma's devious mind, enhanced by the recent conversings with Vejita, plotted what she was going to say even before she had cemented her plan.  
  
"Are you there?"  
  
Bulma cleared her throat and imitated her mother flawlessly. "Yes--yes, of course I'm here! Abby dear, how ARE you faring?" She noticed how ridiculous she had to sound to pass as her mother and grinned inwardly.  
  
"As well as can be expected, I suppose," Abby replied coldly. "But that is not the reason I called."  
  
"Oh, no kitten?" Bulma cooed. "Then what DO you want?"  
  
Abby cleared her throat nervously. "Well, since Mariah's...accident...there have been some rumors about whether it really was an accident or not."  
  
Alarms went off in Bulma's head, and she thought of Vejita's prediction about Mariah's parents filing a lawsuit against her. She had to struggle to remain in character. "Wha--what?! That's terrible! Would you like to talk about it? I'm here for you, you know. I remember how close Bulma and Mariah used to be."  
  
"Actually..." Abby started. "I'm calling to inform you that from what I hear, your daughter was involved."  
  
Bulma's heart leaped into her throat. "Oh, surely Abby, those are just rumors! There is no way that my lovely daughter would ever get involved with people that would do such a...HORRIBLE thing to an innocent little girl!"  
  
"Then you don't know your daughter very well." Abby had apparently decided to ditch the kindness and get straight to it. "Because I have several witnesses who are willing to go up against you and your horrid daughter in court. Perhaps she STILL doesn't know who her real friends are, because her supposed 'best friends' are the ones who have come forward about the matter."  
  
"That's quite impossible!" Bulma protested, nearly dropping her disguise and screaming through the phone. "I know my daughter, Abby, and Bulma would never even THINK of doing such a thing to ANYONE, and especially not someone as familiar as Mariah!"  
  
Abby laughed haughtily and then got serious again. "Well, I suppose that will be for the judge to decide. Find yourself a nice, expensive attorney, Mrs. Briefs, because the next time I see you, it will be in court." She hung up, and that opened up Vejita's line.  
  
Bulma sat for a moment in shocked silence. For the first time in years, a stream of tears began falling down her face. "Oh shit..." she breathed.  
  
Vejita, who was on his cell phone, sounded impatient. "'Oh shit' what? And what the hell took you so long?"  
  
"Vejita," Bulma started desperately, the tears showing through into her voice. "Please help me...you--you don't understand!"  
  
"Hold it," Vejita coaxed. "Is it your time of the month or something? What's with the mood swings?"  
  
"Mariah's mother!" Bulma exclaimed shakily. "She--she..."  
  
Vejita was beginning to get the gist of Bulma's ramblings. Bulma could hear him gathering up his belongings and being walking somwhere. "Fuck. No way!"  
  
"Way," Bulma insisted. "She's gonna take me to court, Vejita, I'm gonna go to JAIL...my parents are gonna find out...you've got to help me!"  
  
"Stay at home," Vejita instructed. "I'm leaving school. I'll be there in a few minutes, and you'd better stop crying by the time I get there."  
  
Bulma tried to protest, but Vejita hung up the phone and she was left to herself once again. The tears continued falling steadily, and she knew there was no way she could stop them. For lack of anything else to do, she put her face into her hands and sobbed.  
  
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(A/N): The plot thickens! Things are gonna start happening quite rapidly now, so put on your seatbelts, ladies and gentlemen. Sorry about the loooong wait--family tragedy. I won't get into the depressing details. And on top of that, I'm right smack in the middle of finals, and it sucks! Studying is just not my thing... I know that this chapter was kinda short, but I promise you that I'll make up for it and make the next one a nice lengthy, detailed, exciting one! ^_^;; You just might have to wait a little while... My birthday's finally coming up fast! January 20th is the day, folks! Rhapsody's gonna get lotsa presents this year, cuz she's been a very good girl... heh heh...kind of....Well, anyway, why dontcha give me an early present and review? Thank you much!  
  
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	10. Run From It

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER NINE: Run From It  
  
  
  
  
Vejita usually didn't cater to anyone, and especially not to women. Yet here he was, running red lights and blowing past stop signs just to go calm a girl down. Or was he? Vejita had to admit that he was seriously pondering doing just a little more than calming Bulma down. The situation was getting serious, and serious situations required drastic measures, in his opinion.   
  
The sprawling Briefs mansion was not difficult to spot. He could easily see it for blocks before he arrived there. Confident that her parents weren't home, he pulled his car right into the driveway and got out carefully. He searched for the security cameras and carefully slid outside of their field of view. He smirked at how simple it was and just walked right into the house upon finding the front door unlocked.  
  
"Come in here!" Bulma called from a room that sounded fairly close. Vejita stared at the many hallways leading away from the front hall and grimaced.  
  
"You're going to have to be a bit more specific," he snapped as he began walking in the direction of her voice. Before she could reply, he had reached the living room. He had been right to come, he decided upon seeing her. She was a wreck. Her eyes were red-rimmed and still brimming over with frightened tears. He had to admit that he would be pretty messed up, too. "Now tell me exactly what happened before I decide to beat it out of you." As Bulma related the story, Vejita grew more and more certain that the girl had no choice but to either turn herself in or leave. Immediately.   
  
"You're damned lucky that YOU were here instead of one of your parents," Vejita agreed, studying the rich surroundings. "Let me just point out right now that I was right about them all. At the first sign of trouble, even a little thing like the fireworks incident, they went and screwed you over."  
  
"I knew that Chichi was seriously angry when I went to see her," Bulma said quietly, her eyes on the floor. After a moment of awkward silence, she looked back up at Vejita again, her eyes shining. "But I don't regret the choices I...WE made."  
  
Vejita couldn't help himself. He suddenly and swiftly kissed her. To cover up his uncertainty, he pulled her up off of the couch and out of the living room. "You've got to get the hell out of here. Where's your room? You've gotta grab some of your shit and leave. Now."  
  
Bulma, still reeling from the brief kiss, pointed up the staircase and allowed him to practically drag her up the stairs and towards her room, which was still a mess. "Where can I go, Vejita? I have no choice. I have to stay here."  
  
"That's bullshit!" Vejita protested, releasing her arm. "You want to go to jail? No, didn't think so."  
  
"But to just...run from it?" Bulma shook her head. "I can't do that."  
  
"If you have nowhere to go, you can crash at my place until you find somewhere," Vejita said through gritted teeth. "Now hurry up, you've got to be long gone before anyone gets home."  
  
Bulma shook her head. "Dammit! I told you, Vejita, I can't just run and not do anything about it!"  
  
At those words Vejita paused for a moment, the wheels in his head turning and spinning. When he lifted his black eyes to meet Bulma's, the beginnings of a smirk were on his face. "Believe me, woman, we're going to do something about it. Now get packing, we don't have all week!"  
  
Bulma moved to begin packing, then stopped. "Why do you care so much? Why does helping me mean so much to you?" The look in her drying eyes told Vejita that was not going to back down until she had an answer.  
  
"Because if you get convicted, I get convicted," Vejita said quietly. "That idiot Goku knows all about what I did, too, and if Chichi can't get to you, then Goku will damned well help her get to me."  
  
"You told him?" Bulma asked incredulously. "But I thought--"  
  
"That I was a cold, hard son of a bitch who never tells anybody anything unless there's a gun pressed to my head?" Vejita finished her sentence with a faint smirk. "You're right, but instead of giving myself away I'd grab the gun's owner's wrist and fucking snap it in two before he could get a shot in."  
  
Bulma decided not to inquire further. It took about twenty minutes for her to pack all of the necessities and nothing else--they went through her belongings several times to narrow it down and even then Bulma had to sit on the suitcase to get it to close--but nevertheless it got done. To cover up her sudden exit, they cleaned up her room and compensated the security camera footage. Before she could even make sense of the situation, she was in Vejita's car, on the way to his house.  
  
"What about your parents?" she asked anxiously. "I'm sure that they're going to notice me crashing right in the middle of your living room."  
  
Vejita was silent for a moment before answering. "I don't live with my parents." They turned a corner and Vejita accelerated suddenly, slamming Bulma back against her seat.   
  
"Uh...oh," Bulma said lamely. "So you live with relatives?"  
  
"No," Vejita said emphamatically. "I live alone. As in with ME."  
  
Bulma was amazed. Living alone while still in high school was a foreign concept to her. "You have no idea how lucky you are because of that. I wish that I could live somewhere without my parents."  
  
Vejita snorted. "I think that that wish is about to come true."  
  
"We can't hide out at your place for the rest of our lives, though. That's the first place they're gonna look for me, you know."  
  
"First of all, they're gonna have a hell of a time figuring out where I live, since I gave the school a fake address, and second, we're not going to stay there for very long anyway." Vejita glanced over at her surprised face and smirked. "You're going to have get used to independence from here on out, woman, because you aren't going to be living off the generosity of Mummy and Daddy anymore."   
  
Before Bulma could reply, Vejita turned into a driveway and jumped out of the car. Bulma followed his example and examined her surroundings. She was pleasantly surprised. Instead of the small, unkempt house she was expecting, she was standing before a medium-sized, neat-looking sort of house. It looked like the kind of place a college student would buy off-campus. She couldn't help but notice what a good party house it would be, with its large porch and wide driveway. Vejita hoisted her bulging suitcase out of his car and followed her glance to his house.  
  
"What did you expect?" he asked smugly. "Come on, can you imagine ME living in poverty?"  
  
As they walked towards the house, Bulma realized something. "Wait a minute. How can you afford living on your own? I don't remember you saying that you had such a great job."  
  
"That's the sweet part," Vejita explained as he dug the keys out of his pocket. "I don't."  
  
Bulma was confused, but she was thinking that she wasn't going to get much more of an explanation than that, so she shut up and took in the interior of Vejita's house. It was surprisingly clean--once again she was guilty of imagining the place as bachelor pad-ish disaster area. She studied Vejita out of the corner of her eyes and decided that she couldn't imagine Vejita living in a frat-house kind of environment anyway.   
  
"Bullshit," Bulma protested, taking her suitcase from him. "Where do you get money?"  
  
Vejita smirked. "Poor Pops didn't realize that I could easily see his PIN number from over his shoulder. Plus when my grandfather died he left most of his money to me, and he had a fucking FORTUNE ready for me."  
  
Bulma stared at him incredulously. "But doesn't your father notice when the money in his account starts disappearing?"  
  
"Hey," Vejita snapped. "You aren't the only person on Earth who comes from money, woman. He would hardly notice such a small dent in his account."  
  
Bulma blushed in spite of herself. "But you do have a job, don't you? I mean, I can't see you as a total slacker."  
  
"Hell no! Why would I go out and waste my time working when I can just go the bank and have all of that cash available to me?"  
  
"That makes sense...I guess..." Bulma trailed off uncertainly. After all, she was doing the same thing. "So where do I sleep?"  
  
"Wherever," Vejita said. "I have a guest room where my cousin usually sleeps off his hangovers but you can have it. Or you can sleep on the couch, but I'm sure that your delicate self wouldn't want to do THAT."  
  
"You've got me there," Bulma agreed, eyeing the couch with disdain. "I would have a knot the size of California in my neck by the time morning came around."  
  
There was a flicker of an emotion that Bulma couldn't discern in Vejita's eyes. "Or, if you don't want to clean up the guest room, there's always an open spot in my bed."  
  
Bulma looked up in surprise and couldn't decided if her new housemate was serious or not. She felt a cold chill go down her spine for reasons unknown to her--Vejita had not pressured her into anything as long as she had known him--and avoided his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind," she responded dryly. "Show me to the guest room then, dear host."  
  
When she turned away from Vejita to enter the small room, she felt his eyes on her back and the creepy-crawly cold chill returned.   
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Neither Chichi nor Goku was surprised when both Bulma and Vejita were absent from school the next day. Chichi first approached the disoriented Goku during lunch period with a triumphant grin on her scarred face. Goku smothered the internal cringe that he experienced every time he was forced to stare at her hideous haircut for more than five minutes and forced a smile of welcome. It truly was one of the worst things that could have happened to poor Chichi, so he went against his gut feelings and out of his way to please her. And now look what a mess it had gotten him into. As soon as Chichi had made the terrible suggestion that they hit both Bulma and Vejita where it would hurt the most, Goku had gotten that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn't right about the whole thing, he decided. But what?  
  
"Are you even paying attention to me?" Chichi demanded, putting her hands on her hips. "Come on Goku, revenge requires you to remain here on Earth where you belong."  
  
"Revenge?" Goku shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Oh yes, THAT revenge."  
  
Chichi raised an eyebrow. "God, where's your head lately? Its like you regret telling me about Vejita or something. LOOK AT ME, Goku, take a good look. I could have been killed, so I'm returning the favor."  
  
Goku, who had had time to mull over what they gone and told Mariah's mother, Abby, was beginning to feel guilty at the whole thing. Sure, what Bulma and Vejita had done to Chichi had been pretty cruel, but he was almost positive that their motive hadn't been to KILL Chichi, and here she was trying to get them on death row. Goku wasn't sure that she was thinking straight, but he wouldn't have dared to interfere.   
  
"Whatever. Wherever your head is, it can't be too remote, because look at this beautiful success!" Chichi exclaimed, lifting her arms in a gesture of thanks. "I'm sure that they're on their way to like, MEXICO or something, trying to escape the law."  
  
"I don't know about the whole murder trial thing," Goku started cautiously. "All the evidence that the police are gonna have is a handful of witnesses, and that's not much considering how angry the witnesses are with Bulma at the time of accusation. Emotions can easily cloud reason, you know."   
  
Chichi's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that what I did was wrong? That I wasn't THINKING STRAIGHT?" She paused, took a deep, calming breath, and started over. "This is ridiculous. Honestly, Goku--who's side are you on?"  
  
"Well, I'm on yours, of course, but--"  
  
Chichi cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Save it, Goku-chan. I've got to get to class. See you later...in court!" She laughed a bone-chilling, vengeful little laugh and left Goku alone at their lunch table, just as dazed and confused as he had been before.  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Bulma awoke quite early the next morning--hours before Vejita even stirred--and threw a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, what with the faint odor of beer and uh...bodily fluids left behind from Vejita's party-hardy cousin. But something that prohibited her rest even more was the fact that her room had been so close to Vejita's. She knew that that shouldn't be keeping her up into the dark hours of the night, but nevertheless it happened.  
  
She searched through the dark recesses of Vejita's refridgerator and found some suspicious-looking orange juice, but nothing else that she desired to consume so early in the morning. She sighed and resigned to pouring herself a glass of water and sat down in the chair next to Vejita's rather impressive stereo. Listening to be sure that Vejita was still sleeping soundly, she flipped on the radio and switched from the presets to her favorite station.   
  
Vejita found her like this two hours later. She had given in and poured herself some of the orange juice, which turned out to be a bit old, and was curled up in the chair singing along to the radio.  
  
"If I could be like that..." she was whispering. "I would give anything..."  
  
"Am I interuppting something?" Vejita said from the doorway. Bulma started and set her juice down on the coffee table unsteadily. "I mean, if you're in the middle of a concert or something--"  
  
"God, Vejita!" Bulma exclaimed, ignoring his comments. "Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?"  
  
"I've found your reaction to be rather amusing," Vejita retorted. "So yes, I do have to sneak up on you."  
  
"What do you live on?" Bulma asked incredulously, motioning towards her nearly untouched juice. "Everything is either stale or laced with something that I would rather not determine the exact name of."  
  
"Unlike you," Vejita started, crossing the room to take a seat across from the TV. "I don't have to eat every damn second of the day, so I do just fine."  
  
Bulma was silent for a few minutes, and when she opened her mouth to speak her eyes were dark and worried. "I have to get out of here today, Vejita, and you know it. They're gonna be looking for me once I've been gone twenty-four hours."  
  
Vejita scowled with displeasure. "Thanks for ruining my morning, woman. Don't bitch about it, I've got a place that we can go to."  
  
"Oh? And where would that be?" Bulma demanded, crossing her arms and frowning skeptically. "Quite frankly, if its your cousin's house, I refuse. Sleeping in that bed was an experience that I would prefer NOT to repeat, thank you very much."  
  
Vejita had to smirk at that. "Hey, you had a choice. If that's how you feel, then you're out of luck because we're going to his family's old cabin up north."  
  
Bulma was speechless for a moment. "Up north? As in, somewhere out in the wilderness?"  
  
"They're making prepartions to sell the place, so we won't be discovered. Its been sitting untouched for years now."  
  
"Great! Old plumbing, wilderness, musty rooms, is there anything worse?" Bulma complained, running a hand through her hair.   
  
"Once again, woman, its your call." Vejita regarded her seriously. "I guess it depends on how much you want to go to jail."  
  
"I won't get convicted," Bulma whispered.  
  
"Both you and I know that that isn't true," Vejita said firmly. "They have multiple witnesses, and your nonexistent friendship with that girl is proof enough. They're gonna think that there were some hard feelings, which I assume there were, and you'll be staring through bars as quick as you can say 'prison princess'."  
  
The frustrated tears were returning to Bulma's eyes. "God, I'm going to be a fugitive for the rest of my LIFE at this rate."  
  
Vejita chuckled and turned on the television. "Welcome to my world. If you really want food, the number for the pizza place is on the counter."  
  
Bulma choked back her tears and got up from her chair. She slowly, numbly made her way to the counter in search of the number.  
  
___________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
(A/N): Uh-oh, they're waist-deep in all of this shit now. Will they end up at Nikolas' abandoned cabin, or will Bulma decided to turn herself in? Find out next time in 'Youth of the Nation' chapter ten, 'Fugitives'! LoL couldn't resist... Thanks for all of the nice reviews on the last chapter, I really appreciate all of them. Ummm, that's pretty much all I gotta say, I think...Oh yes one more thing! Since this story only has a few more chapters left, I wanted to get you guys' opinion on something! Should I post the sequel to 'Little Black Dress' or my new idea for a totally different fic first? I'm leaning towards the sequel because I have a bunch of ideas, but hey, I suppose I'm doing this for you guys, so its your call. Whatever! Let me know your opinion on things, and lastly--REVIEW!  
  
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	11. Fugitives

(A/N): Sorry about the short notice, but this is the LAST CHAPTER of this fic besides the epilogue! ^_^ Yay!   
  
  
  
  
  
______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________CHAPTER TEN: Fugitives  
  
  
  
  
  
  
That same afternoon, Bulma was officially labeled a missing person. It was also on that afternoon that Bulma, once again, packed her things and headed out with Vejita towards the northern-most part of the state to Nikolas' family's abandoned cabin. The drive was a long one, but she had a lot of thinking to do. Vejita was silent for most of the trip unless Bulma spoke to him first. She couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. If it wasn't for her, he would still be back home, living his 'normal' life in his nice little house, practically worry-free.   
  
"I'm...I'm sorry," she said lamely during one of the long, silent moments. She felt a bit awkward--she wasn't one to make apologies often. "I know that if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be in this situation."  
  
Vejita snorted. "It would have happened eventually. I didn't expect that idiot Goku to be able to keep a secret for that long."  
  
"Then why did you tell him?" Bulma asked.  
  
Vejita was silent for a moment. "Hell if I know. I can't stand to stay in one place for too long, anyway. Does there have to be a reason for everything a person does?"  
  
Bulma sighed and watched out her window. They were hours out of her town, and everything looked strange and unfamiliar. She wasn't sure that she liked the feeling. "I guess not."  
  
Vejita watched her out of the corners of his eyes. "You're going to have a hard time with this, aren't you?"  
  
Bulma choked on the tears she had been holding back for almost the entire drive. "I miss my normal life, before the whole Mariah thing happened," she confided quietly, her voice thick with tears of hopelessness. "I used to be a happy child, can you believe that? None of this would have happened if I hadn't gotten so damned selfish. Mariah would still be alive, and I would be able to live out my life in peace. Now I will never be able to see my friends or my family again."  
  
"Maybe that isn't such a bad thing," Vejita suggested. "I was glad to escape the hellhole that I used to call home."  
  
"But I'm not like you," Bulma protested. "I need my family and my friends. And now all I have is...YOU."  
  
Vejita smirked half-heartedly. "Is that such a bad thing?"  
  
Bulma sniffled and wiped away her tears. "God, Vejita, what are we going to do? We'll kill each other before the week is up. We're in HIGH SCHOOL, and we have no idea how to live out our lives alone, forever. Or at least, I have no idea, and you can't spend your whole life supporting ME."  
  
"Well," Vejita started darkly. "It looks like I'm going to have to now."  
  
Bulma turned to look at him, her blue eyes wide and vulnerable. "I'm going to be blunt and just come out and say that I'm scared shitless."  
  
A traffic light ahead turned red, and Vejita stopped the car accordingly. He stared out the window for a minute, then turned back to her. "Well fuck, so am I."  
  
His honest (?) confession brought a faint smile to Bulma's face. "Well that's always nice to hear," she said with a tiny laugh. "I'm glad that I'm not the only one ready to piss myself over this." She laughed again and returned to staring back out of her window.  
  
Even the hard-headed Vejita didn't have the heart to tell her that he hadn't even the slightest idea of how they were going to survive on their own.  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Chichi got a phone call from Bulma's mother that same afternoon quite unexpectantly. She was in one of her foul moods when the call went through, and she wasn't ashamed to let it show through her voice. Until she discovered who the caller was.  
  
"Oh, Mrs. Briefs, you must be a wreck!" Chichi gushed falsely. "I have to admit that I'm not too composed myself. I just can't believe that Bulma would do such a terrible, terrible thing."  
  
Mrs. Briefs inhaled sharply. "She didn't, honey, I can assure you that. I'm more worried about the poor girl's running away than anything else! Have you heard anything from her?"  
  
Chichi thought for a moment. "Well, no, not directly from her, but I DO know that Vejita disappeared at the same time that she did." She added a tiny bit of fear into her voice. "And golly Mrs. Briefs, he would be the LAST person I would want MY daughter to be gone with."  
  
"That's what I've been hearing," Mrs. Briefs said. "I'm just surprised that you didn't hear a word from her about the whole matter. You're her best friend, and I've never known Bulma to be the introverted type."  
  
"Oh, you would be surprised." Chichi grinned and leaned back into her chair. "The last couple of weeks the rumors about her doing away with Mariah have started to circulate again, and it was getting really obvious that there might be something to them. But I, of course, never believed them."  
  
Sounds of sniffling were heard on Mrs. Briefs' end of the line. "I would love to have a nice, normal chat with you dear, but I have searching to get back to. Please don't hesitate to call if you hear anything, honey! Good-bye."  
  
After hearing the hopelessness in Mrs. Briefs' voice, Chichi felt a pang of guilt over what she'd gone and done. It didn't last long.  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Three and a half hours later, Vejita and Bulma arrived in a small, nearly abandoned vacation town. Bulma pressed her face to the window, delighting in the little place's quaint beauty. The town was on the shores of an enormous lake bordered by immense forests of tall pine trees. A few people were ice skating and ice fishing on the lake, but besides that there wasn't much activity in the small town. It was perfect.  
  
"So where's the cabin?" Bulma asked Vejita, who didn't seem as pleased with his surroundings as Bulma.   
  
"Somewhere back in the woods," Vejita replied, checking a map that he had pulled out of the glovebox. "Don't get your hopes up, its about a mile off of the lake."  
  
Bulma sighed. "I guess ice skating can wait then."  
  
"We aren't here on vacation, woman," Vejita reminded her, and turned onto a neglected dirt road that curved its way into the woods and disappeared. "Shit, this is wonders on my car..."  
  
"That'll teach you to drive a ridiculous car like this in the winter," Bulma teased, even though she quite envied Vejita's ownership (well, kind of ownership) of the charming vehicle. "Besides, we're going to have to lay low for a little while."  
  
"Hmph." Vejita turned his attention away from Bulma and back to the road. "I think that I remember how to get there now. Prepare yourself, because its nothing special."  
  
Bulma sighed, her secret hopes of a backwoods paradise dashed. "Can't have everything, I guess."  
  
When they pulled into the driveway of the tiny, neglected cabin, whatever shred of hope Bulma had left were done away with for good. They got out of the car and just stared for a moment, jaws dropped. Bulma spoke first. Her voice was falsely cheerful.  
  
"Well, it beats jail I guess."  
  
Vejita picked up a rock and chucked it at the sorry little shack. "That ass told me that it was half-decent!"  
  
Bulma grimaced. "NIKOLAS told you it was decent? Forgive me if this sounds rude but you have no right to judge his idea of decency until you've spent the night in his bed. I think that we should look inside before you shatter all of the windows." She shook her head at the disgusted look Vejita shot her and headed for the front door.   
  
The door opened easily enough, much to Bulma's relief. The interior, however, was not very promising. Cobwebs covered corners and whatever furniture Nikolas' family had left behind, and a thick layer of dust stirred up beneath her feet as she entered. It was, in fact, as small as it looked. There was a living room, a corner that you might call a kitchen, a room with a bunk bed, and an almost impossibly tiny bathroom. Bulma cringed at the thought of spending so much time with Vejita in such a confined space.   
  
"Well, this is just GREAT," Vejita growled, picking cobwebs off of what looked to be a phone. "This stupid thing had better be connected! That bastard is going to hear from me..."  
  
Bulma sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. "We don't have much of a choice, Vejita, unless you'd prefer a 6 by 8 cell with no windows."  
  
"Don't you see that that is what this IS?" Vejita snarled, dialing what Bulma assumed to be Nikolas' number. She did not envy him at this moment. "Give me Nikolas."  
  
Bulma had no interest in hearing Vejita cuss his poor cousin out, so she went back outside to look at the yard. It was mostly dense forest, but the area immediately around the house had been cleared to make room for a rusty swingset and a well. A WELL. Bulma groaned, peered inside, and scowled. Things were getting worse by the minute. She could hear Vejita yelling at Nikolas from nearly a hundred feet away.   
  
"What the hell kind of trick...I don't give a fuck what you think...not going to spend my youth locked away like some kind of..." Bulma could only make out parts of what Vejita was saying, but it didn't take much to get the gist of the argument. She couldn't say that she disagreed with Vejita, but she was willing to make sacrifices to stay out of handcuffs.   
  
A few minutes later, Vejita's yelling stopped and an angry click could be heard. Bulma prepared herself for the worst and hurried back into the cabin.   
  
"Well?" she asked expectantly. "What did he say?"  
  
"I don't think that we'll be talking again very soon," Vejita responded, crossing his arms. "But he's too much of a dumbass to rat on me, even when he's this pissed."  
  
"So I take it that we're stuck here?"  
  
Vejita nodded unhappily. "Take it or leave it, this is the only opportunity that we have."  
  
Bulma sighed and studied her surroundings. "Take it. We're going to have to head into town to get food and stuff like that though. And we're going to need Lysol. Lots of Lysol." Without waiting for Vejita's consent, she started making her way back to the car.  
  
Just before turning the key in the ignition, Vejita turned to her with narrowed eyes. Bulma stiffened, expecting an attack of some sort. She was pleasantly (?) surprised.  
  
"And we're NOT wasting MY money on any of that wildflower-scented shit, either!"  
  
  
  
_______________ ~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
As it turned out, they did not end up with any of 'that wildflower-scented shit', but rather with a handful of dish towels and a gallon of bottled water. Bulma slammed the door of the car in frustration.   
  
"What the hell kind of place doesn't sell cleaning products?" she demanded. "And I refuse to live on Cheerios and Fritos for the rest of my life!"  
  
Vejita scowled and started the engine. "Don't blame me, woman, I'm not happy about it either."  
  
"What I can't understand is how an entire town can survive on just one dinky little Food-mart!" Bulma exclaimed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.   
  
"Here's a better question," Vejita started. "How are WE going to survive on a Food-mart?"  
  
"Jesus Christ," Bulma grumbled. "Jail is sounding better every minute."  
  
They spent the remainder of the trip 'home' in relative silence. It was only when they were about forty feet from the driveway that Vejita spoke. He stopped the car suddenly and studied the tracks on the road ahead of them with narrowed, suspicious eyes.  
  
"What the..."  
  
Bulma craned her neck to see, but could not discern anything unusual. "What, Vejita? What do you see?"  
  
"Tire tracks," Vejita said quietly, opening his door and stepping out of the car.   
  
Bulma rolled her eyes. "Uh, well yeah, cars usually make those!"  
  
"You don't understand, woman! When we came here, the tracks that my car made were the only ones in the snow, and now there's another set. More than one, by the looks of it. And they're definitely not mine."  
  
"Oh my God," Bulma breathed, getting out of the car to examine them for herself. "But who else could it be?"  
  
The answer came to them both at once, and they exchanged looks of surprise and dread.   
  
"But...no!" Bulma protested, backing towards the car shakily. "We planned it perfectly! Nobody saw us leave, and nobody knew where we were headed!"  
  
Vejita ran a hand through his hair in agitation. "Not exactly. Nikolas knew."  
  
Bulma could have killed him. "And you, ego-maniac that you are, decided to go and piss him off!"  
  
"This isn't MY fault!" Vejita protested loudly. "If you hadn't bumped that chick off before, we wouldn't even BE in this fucking situation!"  
  
"Oh," Bulma shouted back. "So you're going to pin this one on ME. Thanks! I was against this idea from the start! I TOLD you that it would never work!"  
  
Vejita shook his head. "I don't think so! Maybe you should stop yelling, because if the cops ARE waiting for us, then I would prefer not to alert them that we've arrived!"  
  
"Too late," said a voice from behind them.   
  
Bulma and Vejita whirled around to face a grinning Nikolas, who was flanked by two cops. Armed cops. Bulma heard Vejita mutter foul curses under his breath and couldn't help but utter a few of her own. They were trapped, that much was clear.  
  
"I couldn't let you get away with EVERY trick, now could I?" Nikolas said, crossing his arms and adopting a smug expression. "Manipulation just runs in the family, I guess. See you in court, guys."  
  
The cops lifted their weapons and approached them slowly. The defeated duo had no choice but to surrender. Bulma lifted her hands, allowing tears to fall over her cheeks in hopes that they would take pity on her.  
She had no such luck. Vejita had time to shoot her one last, intense stare before his cop shoved him against the car and cuffed him with little difficulty.   
  
___________________________________________________________________________________________ 


	12. Epilogue

______________________________________________ YOUTH OF THE NATION _______________________  
  
_____________________________________________________________________ Rhapsody~* _________  
  
  
______________________________________EPILOGUE  
  
  
  
  
Despite their expensive lawyers and Bulma's desperate pleas, the Briefs family could not prevent the inevitable for any longer. Bulma was convicted of murder not even a week after her arrest and sentenced to life in prison. Even her wealthy parents couldn't afford the price of bail. As for the Clyde of the duo, he also got what was coming to him. Vejita had no family or friends willing to vouch for him, so he was also convicted almost immediately after his arrest.  
  
Their cases were some of the most publicized in recent memory not only because of the nature of their committed murders, but because of their youth. If it had been for any other reason, the public attention and time in the spotlight would have appealed to both Bulma and Vejita.   
  
After their convictions, Bulma and Vejita were rarely given the opportunity to see each other, let alone communicate, but when they did, it was hardly the same. Reality ruled out all chances of further chemistry between the two, and perhaps it was better that way.  
  
It wasn't until one day two or three years later that they were given a good opportunity to talk. After some short conversation, Vejita managed to slip a small knife into the waiting hands of Bulma, who tucked it into her ugly jail uniform and smiled at her old partner-in-crime on last time.  
  
"I suppose this is good-bye then?" she asked quietly, fingering the heavy chain links that made up the fence separating them.  
  
Vejita smirked and nodded. "Yeah. Look on the bright side, though--you don't have to pay for tattoos here."  
  
Bulma managed a faint smile and stepped back from the fence. "No shit."   
  
"So..." Vejita gazed off into the distance, his dark eyes thoughtful. "How's it looking for you?"  
  
Bulma choked on frustrated tears. "Mariah's parents are pushing for the death penalty."  
  
"You thinking about the injection or what?"  
  
"Neither." Bulma's hand went to the knife hidden in her uniform. Her next words came out soft and strained. "There are better ways to die."  
  
Vejita gestured to the part of her uniform where she had slipped the knife. "Keep it safe. The last thing I need is another beating from the pigs." His expression was serious. "You know what to do with it."  
  
Bulma's blue eyes searched his face forlornly. "Good-bye, Vejita."  
  
It was the last time Bulma Briefs ever saw daylight.  
  
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(A/N): I started it dark, so it has to end that way, dammit! LoL! Yay! I'm finished! Since the story is over and done with, and there is absolutely ZERO (You can quote me on this!), I repeat, ZERO chance for a sequel, I won't say another word about this fic! I'll leave that for you in your reviews... As for my next one, however... I've got some thinking to do on that one. At this point, I'm positive that its gonna be the sequel to 'Little Black Dress', but there isn't much else that I'm 100% on, haha! If you all have any ideas, then please let me know. Don't hold out on me! So, with all of that said, I'm going to thank you for your support one last time and kindly remind you to put your little hearts into one...last...review! Thanks again, and ja ne!  
  
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